State extends deadline for staff review of Rosamond energy storage project
Tuesday's decision is still expected to result in a final decision by the end of this year on Toronto-based Hydrostor Inc.'s 500-megawatt Willow Rock Energy Storage Center. That was a primary concern for the company, which had expressed concern that delays could jeopardize the project's $1.76 billion federal loan guarantee.
Hydrostor's senior vice president of commercial affairs, Curt Hildebrand, said in a statement Thursday the company remains fully committed to meeting the milestones outlined in Tuesday's committee order, which he noted reiterated the desire of the commission and its staff to render a final decision before Dec. 31.
"We appreciate the committee's engagement throughout this process, and Hydrostor will continue to work closely with the staff of the California Energy Commission in an effort to bring the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center online to help meet California's system reliability requirements," he stated.
On April 2, a commission employee filed a motion blaming red tape, largely originating from other government agencies, for complications that have bogged down staff's review. It pointed to a series of issues such as wastewater discharge and preservation of archaeological resources.
The company responded in a filing one week later that agency staff had all the information they needed to complete a preliminary staff assessment that was supposed to be done by Wednesday. Under this week's order, that review won't be due until April 30. A deadline for the final staff assessment was pushed back from May 28 to July 16.
As part of the delay, which was generally supported by case intervenors California Unions for Reliable Energy and the Center for Biological Diversity, the project's public comment period was restored to 45 days from 30.
The project is planned to provide California's power grid more than eight hours of backup electricity when renewable power sources are unavailable. It is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs and about 40 full-time positions.
The committee's filing Tuesday reminded all parties in the case to abide by the dates and deadlines contained in this week's order.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
10 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Santa Monica's Reflect Orbital Raises $20 Million for Sunlight on Demand
Reflect Orbital, a Santa Monica-based space tech company, raised a $20-million Series A round to accelerate development of its satellite constellation designed to deliver sunlight on demand. The round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures. 'Lux backs some of the most impressive hardware companies out there, and they share our vision. We couldn't ask for better partners to join us in creating the future of light and energy, and together, we'll get our first lux on the ground,' said Ben Nowack, chief executive of Reflect Orbital, in a statement. Sourced from Reflect Orbital.
Business Upturn
42 minutes ago
- Business Upturn
Troller Cat Surpasses $350,000 in Contributions as Stage 14 of Presale Launches with New Referral Rewards and Staking Benefits
NEW YORK, July 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Troller Cat ($TCAT), an Ethereum-based meme coin project known for its gamified presale rollout, has officially entered Stage 14 of its ongoing token presale, themed around the viral 2009 'Balloon Boy Hoax.' The latest milestone brings total contributions past $350,000, marking significant progress in its 26-stage presale roadmap. Each presale phase incorporates a viral or satirical reference to internet history, and Stage 14 continues that trend while introducing additional community-driven incentives. The token is now priced at $0.00009667, reflecting a 1833.4% increase from its Stage 1 price. As the project approaches its final presale phases, Troller Cat's team has also announced updates to its staking program and referral system to further enhance user engagement and participation. New Milestones and Tokenomics Update Since launching the first presale stage earlier this year, Troller Cat has steadily built momentum through a structured token release model. Each of the 26 stages is uniquely themed and tied to a set price increase. The listing price at the end of the presale has been set at $0.0005309, implying a projected return for participants who join before final stages conclude. With over 372 billion total tokens and a 2-year liquidity lock in place, the project aims to implement a long-term deflationary token model. The deflationary mechanics will be supported by ad revenue from Troller Cat's upcoming Game Center and a token-burning protocol that gradually reduces circulating supply. 'We're not just aiming for virality; we're building a community experience that mirrors how internet culture evolves—spontaneously, with humor, but also with structure,' said a spokesperson from the Troller Cat development team. 69% APY Staking Introduced During Presale Alongside the progression to Stage 14, Troller Cat has introduced a staking program offering up to 69% APY for participants who lock their tokens during the presale period. This initiative is designed to reward early backers and encourage longer-term holding behavior ahead of the token's listing on decentralized exchanges. Unlike traditional staking protocols that launch post-ICO, the presale staking mechanism allows users to begin earning yield prior to listing, with rewards distributed upon token launch. The mechanism is non-custodial, meaning users retain ownership of their tokens while they are locked. Referral Program Gains Traction Troller Cat's referral rewards program has also seen expanded adoption. Any participant who contributes $25 or morein the presale unlocks access to a personalized dashboard where they can generate a unique referral code. When shared, both the referring user and the invitee receive an additional 10% in TCAT tokens, aligning community growth with token distribution. According to the team, this structure has encouraged organic sharing and rapid user onboarding without relying on external promotional campaigns or influencer marketing. Instead, growth is fueled directly by the community through transparent and trackable incentives. Gamified Presale Format The current phase, 'Balloon Boy Hoax,' is one of several themed stages inspired by notable online hoaxes, pranks, and viral moments. Each new stage introduces updated visuals and minor platform tweaks while maintaining the project's overarching format. This approach aims to enhance community engagement and provide contextually rich milestones throughout the presale. 'This isn't just about memes—it's about digital culture, history, and creating a storyline that the crypto community can rally around,' the team spokesperson added. With 12 presale stages remaining, each with an incrementally higher token price and decreasing token availability, the project expects to complete the presale within the next several weeks, depending on market participation and referral traction. Community-Driven Approach Troller Cat's whitepaper outlines plans for a post-launch ecosystem that includes: A Game Center integrating ad revenue sharing with token burns integrating ad revenue sharing with token burns A liquidity lock mechanism to protect against early-stage volatility mechanism to protect against early-stage volatility Governance tools to allow the community to vote on future stage themes and post-launch developments The project has emphasized transparency and participation as core pillars of its strategy, publishing real-time presale metrics and circulating educational content to ensure users understand staking, referrals, and presale mechanics. Token Allocation and Roadmap The full token allocation includes: 40% allocated to presale presale 10% to staking rewards 15% to ecosystem growth and development 20% to marketing and partnerships 15% reserved for centralized exchange liquidity and listings Following the completion of Stage 26, Troller Cat is expected to list on Uniswap, where it will launch at the fixed price of $0.0005309. No new tokens will be minted post-launch, aligning with the deflationary structure and capped supply approach. Key Figures Current Presale Stage: 14 of 26 ('Balloon Boy Hoax') 14 of 26 ('Balloon Boy Hoax') Token Price (Stage 14): $0.00009667 $0.00009667 Total Raised (as of July 19, 2025): Over $350,000 Over $350,000 Projected Listing Price: $0.0005309 $0.0005309 Maximum Token Supply: 372,000,000,000 TCAT 372,000,000,000 TCAT Liquidity Lock Duration: 2 years 2 years Staking Yield: Up to 69% APY An example calculation provided by the project team illustrates that an investment of $35,000 at the current price would yield approximately 361,997,617 TCAT. If the token lists at its projected launch price, the value of that holding would be over $192,000, not including staking rewards. Next Steps The team has outlined the next steps in the roadmap, which include: Launch of the Troller Cat Game Center beta (Q4 2025) NFT-based stage collectibles for early adopters (Q4 2025) Expanded referral leaderboard and community reward programs Uniswap listing targeted for completion shortly after Stage 26 ends As the project transitions through the remaining 12 stages, it aims to build on its current momentum while introducing new platform features in tandem with community feedback. About Troller Cat Troller Cat ($TCAT) is an Ethereum-based meme coin project combining narrative-driven tokenomics with staking, referral mechanics, and community-led growth. With a 26-stage presale format inspired by viral internet events, Troller Cat aims to deliver a uniquely structured and engaging experience for crypto users of all experience levels. For More Information Media Contact:Troller Cat Team Email: [email protected] [email protected]
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Stocks and Markets Podcast: Prairie Operating CEO on energy business
Ed Kovalik wants you to know the importance of petroleum. "I always remind people that everything in their daily life is made in some way, shape, or form with a petroleum-based product," he said. "The computers that we're using right now to talk to one another, with the makeup that our wives wear, the surfboard my kids use at the beach," Kobalik added. "They're fossil fuels and everything, fossil fuels, everything. I think the only thing I've ever seen that's as prolific is corn," Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Kovalik, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Prairie Operating Co. (ticker: PROP) shared his experiences with Chris Versace, TheStreet Pro portfolio's lead manager, during the July 16 edition of TheStreet Stocks & Markets Podcast. "We're energy-dense form of energy," he said. "The only competitive form of energy is nuclear. And nuclear is going to take decades to work itself out of the regulatory quagmire that it's in and get built going to see demand for fossil fuels increase every year." Fossil fuels play an important role in meeting the ever-growing demands of AI data centers, he said. Goldman Sachs Research forecast in February that global power demand from data centers will increase 50% by 2027 and by as much as 165% by the end of the decade compared with 2023. More Economic Analysis: Federal Reserve prepares strong message on long-term interest ratesMassive city workers union approves strikeAnalyst makes bold call on stocks, bonds, and gold "Low-energy-dense forms of generation like solar and wind are not going to take over the industry," Kovalik said. Kovalik, who came out of the investment banking world, said he fell in love with the industry during the first generation of shale companies that emerged in the early went on to work in private equity and merchant banking, investing in mostly upstream exploration and production across all the basins in the US. "We started Prairie two years ago, really with a very focused mission to create a pure play under levered, high growth, DJ basin focused smidcap company," he said, referring to the Denver-Julesburg Basin centered in eastern Colorado. "And so that was really in response to what we've seen over the last decade, which has been a massive amount of consolidation in our industry." Today there are far fewer public oil companies, he said, and far fewer small-cap companies, in particular. "There are no growth-oriented small-cap companies," Kovalik said. "And so we really wanted to create an investment alternative that looked like that." "So, it's fair to say that you've seen the trials, the tribulations, the rewards, throughout economic cycles and what commodity prices have done," Versace said. "So, you're well aware of the bigger opportunities and mindful of the risks." "Yeah, 100%," Kovalik said. "In that period of time shale has been through an entire evolution from the first days of drilling to today. From a pure operational technological perspective, a lot of innovation has happened in the industry, where we're able to drill much better wells than we did 25 years ago." M&A is a pillar of the company's strategy, he said, noting that Prairie Operating recently acquired the assets of Edge Energy for $12.5 million. Related: Stocks and Markets Podcast: Why Now Is the Time to Buy High-Yielding Small-Cap Stocks "When we purchased the Bayswater assets, for example, we hedged 85% of that production on a three-year roll-forward basis," he said. (The $603 million deal closed in February.) "I think we locked in our oil-price hedges at $68 (per barrel) and change and our gas hedges above $4 (per 1,000 cubic feet), and so we're big believers in taking that risk off as we drill wells, which we're doing every day." "We'll continue to hedge as we bring those new wells [into] production," Kovalik said. "And so that's the biggest risk." "We've talked a little bit about the oil market, the opportunities with Prairie," Versace said. "But, for someone who's new to the story, Ed, what are the one or two risks that you and the rest of the management team continue to focus in on, or [that folks should be] mindful of?" "The] big elephant in the room is commodity price risk," Kovalik said. "And you can't be an oil company without assuming that risk. We hedge for that. So we're certainly not believers in the idea that people ought to buy Prairie stock as a way to expose themselves to oil prices." "You can do that yourself without we do is we try to eliminate that risk to the best of our ability." Related: Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
