WIND: A court rules Montana regulators undercut the price developers of a $500 million wind farm would be paid for electricity, the third such ruling on a clean energy case this year. (Montana Standard)

ALSO: The 300 MW wind energy component of PG&E’s $155 million hybrid renewables project in Eastern Oregon is now online. (reNEWS, KGW)

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CLEAN ENERGY:
• With revenue from fossil fuels declining, Montana Republicans consider raising taxes on wind and solar energy to make up the difference. (Billings Gazette)
• Ketchum, Idaho adopts a resolution to achieve clean energy goals after more than 200 local residents signed a petition asking for a 100 percent clean energy commitment. (Idaho Mountain Express)

EFFICIENCY: California cannabis growers are concerned that potential new lighting requirements could affect the quality of their product. (LA Weekly)

OIL & GAS:
• With only ten inspectors, New Mexico is falling behind on goals to monitor the state’s 52,000 oil and gas wells to help combat methane leaks. (Capital & Main)
• A California lawmaker introduces an “intent bill” to ensure the potential economic toll on the southern Central Valley region is considered in any discussion regarding a fracking ban. (Bakersfield Californian)

SOLAR:
• Representatives from solar energy companies, farmers unions and landowners are pleased with the direction of a Colorado county’s proposed regulation changes, but want more time to consider the details. (Greeley Tribune)
• Nevada conservationists file an appeal with the Bureau of Land Management to stop a recently approved solar project, as “parties that would be adversely affected by the project.” (Pahrump Valley Times)

STORAGE: A new modeling study finds that California will require 2-11 GW of new operational long duration energy storage by 2030 and up to 55 GW by 2045. (Green Car Congress)

NUCLEAR: An Arizona public utility increases its share of a nuclear generating station along with purchasing some transmission assets and associated nuclear fuel inventory. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES: The City of North Las Vegas partners with NV energy to clear $650,000 in payments owed by 4,200 families. (Las Vegas Sun)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla CEO Elon Musk moves to Texas after fighting with California regulators over coronavirus restrictions that have kept the company’s Bay Area factory closed. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• A California editorial board is disturbed that the general manager of San Francisco’s utilities regulator is the latest official revealed to be complicit in  the city’s worst corruption scandal in memory. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• An Iñupiaq activist discusses the impact that oil and gas development has on indigenous communities in the Arctic. (Sierra Club)

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).