California regulators on Thursday approved new maintenance and operations standards for battery storage resources, including requiring facility owners to develop emergency response and emergency action plans. The state sees batteries as a way to reduce fossil fuel use, storing renewable energy during the day for later use, California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds said at Thursday’s open meeting. However, “we have to be very, very aware of the safety risk,” she said. A January fire at Vistra energy's Moss Landing battery facility in California led to calls for greater scrutiny of battery safety rules.

Nebraska's U.S. District Court is handing a northeast Nebraska county a victory in a battle over wind farm regulations. District Court Judge John Gerrard, on Friday, granted a partial dismissal of a lawsuit filed by North Fork Wind against Knox County. The wind energy company and 12 residents filed the lawsuit, challenging changes to zoning laws that they said would likely jeopardize a $1.3 billion wind farm. “This is a substantial victory for the citizens and taxpayers of Knox County," said Jim Sokol, Chairman of the Knox County Board of Supervisors. "It is significant that at this early stage of the litigation, the bulk of lawsuit was dismissed. The possibility remains that the entire lawsuit could be dismissed on summary judgment.

A bid to create the largest community-controlled wind farm in Scotland has been rejected. Cowal Community Energy’s (CCE) bid was the first of its kind in Scotland where a community would take over a large-scale wind farm site on publicly-owned land and benefit from the full income from the turbines...The bid was seen as a "test case" for communities across Scotland, but it was ultimately rejected by Forestry Land Scotland.

A councillor has claimed Perth and Kinross is “under siege” from green energy developments destroying its green countryside. He made the comments as councillors unanimously refused plans for a battery storage plant on green belt land at Tibbermore...Manchester-based Ylem (BESS) North submitted plans to Perth and Kinross Council for a 50MW energy storage facility housed in 24 containers on land 260 metres south west of Taigh An Struith...The local authority received 20 letters of objection, including one from Methven And District Community Council. Concerns raised included the loss of green belt land, noise, fire risk, flood risk and the visual impact. The council’s own Development Plan Team objected to the plans due to concerns about its impact on the surrounding landscape.

The San Marcos City Council adopted new guidelines for battery energy storage system facilities this week as residents continue to share concerns about proposed projects in North County. The guidelines, adopted Tuesday, apply to all new and existing battery energy storage system projects, or BESS, exceeding 600 kilowatt hours within the San Marcos Fire Protection District. Requirements were developed to align with California Fire Code and National Fire Protection Association standards. BESS facilities have been identified as a crucial means of achieving the state’s climate goals, due to their ability to store solar energy effectively. However, the safety of these projects is also under public scrutiny due to concerns about fires.

A critical permit for an offshore wind farm planned near the New Jersey Shore has been invalidated by an administrative appeals board, seven weeks after President Donald Trump declared he hoped the project was “dead and gone.” The decision to remand an Environmental Protection Agency air pollution permit for the Atlantic Shores South venture is the boldest strike yet against a wind farm since Trump took office in January and froze federal permitting of the projects. It is also an unusual decision — coming nearly six months after the EPA issued that final air permit to the wind farm that has been a joint venture of Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America. The action came at the hands of the US government’s Environmental Appeals Board, after a challenge mounted by area residents who oppose the project and say they are concerned about possible destructive effects.

Plans to erect a solar farm which would have covered an area equivalent to 80 football pitches on green belt land have been rejected by local councillors. The 49.95MW scheme, proposed for an 156-acre (63-hectare) site at Hillam, near Selby, was recommended for approval by planning officers at North Yorkshire Council. The solar farm would have provided enough green energy to supply 17,000 homes and displace 107,500 tonnes of CO2 a year, according to the proposal. However, councillors voted to reject the plans due to the loss of "good quality" arable land and the fact the scheme fell within green belt.

When employees from Gabriel Solar LLC came to argue their case Tuesday night, sometimes what they said ddn't match with the slides on their presentation...In the end, the negatives of the project outweighed the positives for the board, as supervisors voted 7-1 to reject the proposal...This was bary far the largest solar farm proosal to come before Prince Edward officials. The solar panel portion would have stretched over 539 acres, east of New Bethel Road and on both sides of Falkland Road and Virso Road...Beyond last night, part of what concerned neighbors was the company's track record. In 2024, Energy was fined more than $100,000 for the third straight year by Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality for violations at its Buckingham County site.

Plans for up to six wind turbines as high as 180m have been rejected by a planning inspector because of the “unacceptable adverse impact” on Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The application was for up to six wind turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 180 metres and associated infrastructure on land north of the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road, north-west of Rhymney and north east of Merthyr Tydfil.

The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) turned down a major solar project application proposed for the M.D. of Provost, citing agricultural and environmental concerns. The decision to turn down Westbridge Renewables’ Eastervale Solar Inc. (ESI) application was released in AUC decision 28847-D01-2025 Feb. 19. “The Commission has weighed all of the potential benefits in its assessment,” noted the decision. “However, overall, the Commission finds that the benefits associated with the project do not outweigh the adverse impacts of the project, particularly the impacts to the environment. “For the reasons outlined in the decision, the Commission finds that approval of the applications is not in the public interest, and…the Commission denies the applications.