OVERSIGHT: An Arizona regulator is removed from the ballot for being 92 signatures short of the 6,663 needed to run, with at least 100 ruled invalid due to forgery. (Arizona Republic)

CLIMATE: California’s Green New Deal could be pushed back to next year or significantly scaled down because of the coronavirus crisis and related budgetary concerns. (Capital Public Radio News)

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COAL: Peabody’s CEO says a review of the company’s mines could mean identifying some assets to sell in addition to the layoff of 170 workers from its Wyoming mines. (Gillette News Record)

MICROGRIDS: A proposal by California regulators would require utilities to speed up the deployment of wildfire mitigation projects, including microgrids that could help customers during upcoming planned power outages. (Utility Dive)

CALIFORNIA:
• The federal judge overseeing PG&E’s criminal probation says the utility’s practice of outsourcing vegetation management work as part of its wildfire mitigation efforts “remains sloppy and unreliable.” (Utility Dive)
• A new PG&E initiative encourages California’s vulnerable populations to take advantage of an expanded program to provide back-up power and other support to those most in need during public safety power shutoffs. (Chico Enterprise-Record)

NUCLEAR: The final report by federal scientists and other congressional experts on the viability of a New Mexico nuclear waste storage site details problems including security and the availability of space. (Associated Press)

OFFSHORE WIND: Vast stretches of the West Coast are excluded from a federal offshore wind leasing process due to limitations imposed by the Department of Defense and Monterey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. (North American Windpower)

OIL & GAS:
• ConocoPhillips Alaska announces plans to cut North Slope production by about 100,000 barrels per day in June. (Associated Press)
• The BLM is set to hold a series of virtual meetings on its plan that will guide oil and gas development over the next decade in northwestern New Mexico areas revered by Native American tribes. (Associated Press)
• Small oil and gas drillers in New Mexico and Wyoming are among those shutting off wells faster than expected in the wake of the recent oil market crash. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)
• The president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association argues that the factors that led to the oil market crash may not be long-lasting, as other industry experts lament the current economic downturn as the “worst they’ve ever seen”. (Boulder Weekly, KRDO)

PIPELINES:
• The Sierra Club seeks to block a Permian Basin pipeline project following a recent court decision halting the Army Corps of Engineers’ expedited permit process. (E&E News, subscription)
• Environmental groups challenge the federal government’s approval of a 135-mile natural gas pipeline project in New Mexico, citing regulators’ lack of analysis of the impact on emissions and climate change. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

COMMENTARY:
• Two California energy advocates say Gov. Newsom’s bankruptcy exit deal with PG&E does little to address the grid’s fundamental safety issues. (North Bay Bohemian)
• A candidate for Montana’s Public Service Commission questions state regulators’ decision that additional details on NorthWestern Energy’s plan to buy more of the Colstrip Power Plant are no longer needed. (Montana Standard)

Lisa Ellwood

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.).