COAL: Despite pledges to end fossil fuel subsidies, the Biden administration has slashed royalty rates for a third coal mine this year, this one in Colorado. (E&E News)

ALSO:
• The cause of a cooling tower collapse that knocked out one of two units at the San Juan Generating Station in New Mexico remains undetermined, but Public Service Company of New Mexico officials say a temporary replacement tower has been installed. (NM Political Report)
• A federal judge says a case concerning the coal-fired Colstrip Power Plant can be moved to Montana, where one of several owners may have a better chance at keeping the plant running beyond its scheduled 2025 retirement. (KPVI)

OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham echoes a Biden administration policy in launching an initiative to preserve 30% of the state’s land by 2030, which could affect oil and gas development. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Colorado regulators will decide next month whether an oil and gas company, already hit with a $1.6 million fine for spills and other violations, will be allowed to continue to operate in the state. (Denver Post)
• New Mexico’s oil rich counties in the Permian Basin were among the fastest growing areas of the state during the last decade, according to new census data, while communities in the San Juan Basin natural gas fields lost population. (Hobbs News-Sun)

UTILITIES:
• Oregon’s largest utility requests a 2.9% rate increase to help make its grid more resilient to wildfire and extreme weather events and to reduce carbon-based fuels for energy generation. (Salem Statesman Journal)
• Salt River Project looks to expand a quick-start, natural gas-fired plant to provide backup for the Arizona utility’s planned expansion of solar generating capacity. (S&P Global)
• Amid calls to electrify all new buildings, Puget Sound Energy officials say the Washington utility must continue to rely on natural gas until it can build out transmission and deploy additional generation. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: California grid operators look to expand a regional energy imbalance market and deploy more storage to lessen solar generation curtailments, which were up this spring compared to previous years. (Energy Information Administration) 

GEOTHERMAL: Microsoft is building one of the largest geothermal plants in the nation to heat and cool its new Redmond, Washington, campus and to help it reach its goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030. (Fast Company)

CLIMATE:
• A new study finds climate change is increasing the number of days in which heat, wind and low humidity boost fire risk across the Western U.S. (Reuters)
• The 126,000-acre Caldor Fire in northern California pushes toward Lake Tahoe, degrading Reno air quality and raising concerns about the smoke’s effect on coronavirus patients. (CNN)
• Western lawmakers ask the Biden administration to declare a federal disaster for Western states to help mitigate the effects of drought, extreme heat and record-breaking wildfires. (NBC News)

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.