CLEAN ENERGY: Arizona regulators approve a measure requiring utilities to get all of their electricity from 100% carbon-free sources by 2050, with a benchmark of 50% by 2035. (Arizona Republic)

ALSO:
• Some advocates are concerned that an aggressive federal climate push could derail bipartisan progress on clean energy in states like Colorado. (Utility Dive)
• A Colorado utility says it remains committed to its 100% renewable energy pledge despite considering a plan for a new natural gas plant. (Mountain Town News)
• Western projects are included in Xcel Energy’s plan to invest $1.4 billion in renewables initiatives between the end of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021. (S&P Global)

COAL:
• Puget Sound Energy, facing pushback from regulators, calls off the sale of its share of the Colstrip power plant in Montana; a spokesperson says the utility is still committed to “get off coal as quickly as possible.” (Billings Gazette, Seattle Times)
• The EPA approves a revised haze plan for Utah coal plants that advocates say will do nothing to reduce pollution. (Salt Lake Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators propose stopping the practice of natural gas flaring at oil wells by early 2022, a move that is supported by large producers. (Denver Business Journal)
• A Colorado county wants state regulators to suspend an extraction company’s permits in a bid to prevent the drilling of new wills on protected lands. (Gillette Tribune)
• Oil industry spending on an Alaska ballot initiative aiming to increase oil taxes has reportedly reached more than $25 million. (Anchorage Daily News)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• A Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction in New Mexico that has been widely criticized by advocates raises $3 million in bids. (Carlsbad Current-Argus, Reuters)
• Nevada conservationists are concerned about how easy it is for corporations and individuals to secure oil and gas leases in the state. (Reno Gazette-Journal)

CALIFORNIA:
• PG&E warns shareholders it could be facing significant financial losses from California wildfires, four months after exiting bankruptcy. (Sacramento Bee)
• A former Cal Fire chief believes there will be many more deaths from wildfires caused by PG&E in the future, and says the utility’s negligence with its equipment is “truly a crime.” (ABC10)

TECHNOLOGY: The University of California San Diego is awarded a $39 million grant to improve the integration of distributed energy sources into the grid. (Green Car Congress)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Representatives of industries impacted by California’s zero-emission vehicles mandate say they should have had more input into the process. (Sacramento Journal)

SOLAR:
• Installers say New Mexico’s clean energy policy puts small-scale projects at a disadvantage. (Solar Power World)
• An Alaska village receives money for a solar-powered microgrid from a tribal-led funding initiative. (KNOM)

COMMENTARY:
• Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. urges Boulder to end its municipalization effort and collaborate with Xcel Energy on clean energy. (Boulder Daily Camera)
• A Wyoming businessman says the state’s “fealty to a single political party” and competition from natural gas leaves coal communities vulnerable. (WyoFile)

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.).