COAL: A Colorado utility pledges to shut down a coal plant 16 years early, leaving only two coal units in the state without closure dates in the near future. (Colorado Sun)

ALSO:
• An advisory panel recommends shutting down all of Colorado Springs’ coal-fired generation by 2030. (KOAA)
• A U.S. coal miners union is seeking an expedited order to force the federal government to protect miners from the coronavirus. (Associated Press)

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SOLAR: A new report says the Bureau of Land Management is largely overlooking the potential for utility-scale solar on federal lands in the Southwest. (AZ Big Media)

CALIFORNIA: As expected, PG&E pleads guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with 2018’s deadly Camp Fire. (New York Times)

UTILITIES: Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s CEO says FERC’s acceptance and suspension of its Contract Termination Payment methodology means the issue is “now properly before the appropriate regulatory commission.”  (Utility Dive)

EMISSIONS: A California energy commissioner says a pilot program under development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and customer bills in new residential buildings is “the start of something big” for the state. (Utility Dive)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A bipartisan group of California legislators writes congressional leaders asking for clean energy legislation including tax incentives in coronavirus relief efforts. (Solar Power World)
• A California climate activist criticizes Democratic lawmakers for failing to urge House leaders to address the pandemic’s impact on clean energy jobs. (E&E News)
• Renewable energy projects in California and New Mexico are among five across the U.S. thriving despite the coronavirus crisis. (Greentech Media)

WIND: Two attorneys specializing in the permitting of large-scale energy projects across the western U.S. explore California offshore wind development. (North American Windpower)

OIL & GAS
• A federal appeals court upholds the cancellation of the last remaining federal oil and gas lease in a Montana region sacred to the Blackfeet Nation and critical for wildlife habitat. (Earthjustice)
• ConocoPhillips announces plans to resume normal production operations on Alaska’s North Slope next month. (Associated Press)
• California’s largest crude producer reaches agreement with its lenders to restructure and continue to operate. (S&P Global)

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EQUITY: A tribal coalition in Utah and Latinos in Los Angeles are featured in a roundup of environmental justice efforts around the country. (InsideClimate News)

COMMENTARY: “The call to ‘defund police’ isn’t that much of a stretch from divestment from the fossil fuel industry,” writes a Black climate activist. (Grist)

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.).