CLEAN ENERGY: In a surprise vote, Arizona regulators reject a 100% clean energy requirement they had approved last fall after two members withdrew their support in protest of an amendment that made the rule voluntary. (Associated Press, ABC 15)

HYDROPOWER:
• A collaboration between environmental advocates and the hydropower industry, announced last fall, unveils a $63 billion plan that would fund removal of 2,000 dams while increasing capacity at existing hydropower facilities. (Los Angeles Times)
• Congressional Republicans accuse Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson of coordinating secretly with Oregon’s governor on his plan to breach four lower Snake River dams. (Associated Press)

WILDFIRES: A trust established to compensate victims of a 2018 wildfire sparked by PG&E power lines has paid out only $7 million while incurring $51 million in overhead expenses, an investigation finds. (KQED)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• The Biden administration releases a plan to conserve 30 percent of public lands and waters, but the effort will be voluntary and locally led. (Los Angeles Times)
• A former Montana official releases a report saying the Biden administration’s pause on oil and gas leasing is harming the state by preventing other uses of public lands. (Billings Gazette)

OIL & GAS:
• A proposed natural gas export terminal on the Oregon coast is dealt another setback after a state agency overturns two local permits. (Oregonian)
• New Mexico regulators propose tougher oversight of emissions from oilfield equipment. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:
• Xcel Energy gives New Mexico customers the option to purchase electricity from a new solar array, but will require an additional charge to do so. (Associated Press)
• Arizona regulators approve a proposal by the state’s largest utility that will encourage solar on low-income multi-family housing. (Chamber Business News)

COAL:
• Colorado lawmakers advance a bill to provide $15 million for the state’s Office of Just Transition. (Colorado Politics, subscription)
• A recent surge in carbon-capture funding in Wyoming is the culmination of years of efforts by state officials to preserve the coal industry. (WyoFile)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A car dealership opens a used electric vehicle lot across the street from Tesla’s new showroom in Colorado Springs. (The Gazette)
• Montana advocates urge Gov. Greg Gianforte to veto a registration fee increase for electric cars that would be among the highest in the country. (NBC Montana)

COMMENTARY:
• A Nevada editorial board recommends ways the state can site solar arrays in rural areas while balancing environmental concerns. (Las Vegas Sun)
• An editorial board says Montana and Wyoming should stop “trying to litigate and legislate the nation back to greater coal dependency.” (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
• A Nevada car dealer pushes back on the perception that dealerships are resisting electric vehicles. (Review-Journal)
• A union official and a mining executive call a recently passed Montana bill to aid the Colstrip power plant “crony capitalism” and urge the governor to veto it. (Montana Standard)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.