COAL: Wyoming lawmakers introduce bills requiring more extensive analysis of costs and grid reliability before fossil-fuel power plants can be retired, with one bill sponsor incorrectly blaming recent Texas outages on the “radical Left” “cancelling fossil fuels.” (Casper Star-Tribune) 

ALSO:
• New Mexico’s largest utility is ordered to refile its application seeking approval to turn over its stake in the coal-fired Four Corners Generating Station supported by the Navajo Nation. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Applications open for the first round of transition grants to help people impacted by closures at a Montana coal plant and mine. (Billings Gazette)

POLICY: Proposed bills that would repeal Montana’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, include existing hydroelectric power and nuclear power in that standard, and remove requirements for community renewable energy projects from that standard are among those endorsed by state lawmakers. (KXLH)

SOLAR: A Washington bill that would allow counties and cities to approve or reject solar installations on farms fails to advance. (Capital Press)

OIL & GAS:
• An environmentalist says increased oil and gas emissions in the Texas side of the Permian Basin during recent extreme winter weather is a sign that lawmakers should be more serious about climate change. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ appointees to the state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are confirmed by the State Senate, despite objections from Republicans. (Colorado Politics)

PUBLIC LANDS: William Perry Pendley, former acting head of the Bureau of Land Management, continues to defend moving the agency’s headquarters to Colorado. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• A community choice energy program serving five cities in the San Diego area begins serving municipal accounts. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Washington ratepayers and environmental advocates say Puget Sound Energy’s latest draft integrated resource plan doesn’t resolve the quandary about the use of natural gas as a “bridge fuel” to clean energy. (Utility Dive)
• New Mexico’s attorney general launches an investigation into utility costs during recent extreme winter weather. (E&E News, subscription)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Arizona-based electric vehicle company Nikola expects to deliver fewer battery-electric trucks this year than planned due to supply chain disruptions. (Utility Dive)
• The Los Angeles public school district adds 10 electric buses to its fleet. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide Climate Action Corps aiming to combat the climate crisis and pandemic-driven economic crisis could be a model for President Biden to follow nationally. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:
• The Los Angeles Times editorial board says California  Gov. Gavin Newsom should not allow the state’s Energy Commission to continue delaying banning fossil fuels in new homes.
• A Wyoming environmental advocate argues against a proposed Laramie Basin wind energy project. (WyoFile)
• A California editorial board says that though the timing of a legislative measure to ban fracking by 2027 is not ideal, it should be prioritized as soon as the post-pandemic period is reached. (Highlander News)
• Advocates praise a Washington climate bill while raising concerns that Oregon lawmakers are undermining state efforts to cut emissions. (Environmental Defense Fund)

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.).