CLIMATE: A report from three state agencies on California’s recent blackouts finds energy planners have failed to account for climate change, leaving the grid vulnerable to extreme heat waves. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO: Parts two and three of an investigative series examine why implementing Colorado’s climate plan is going slower than advocates had anticipated. (Colorado Newsline)

***SPONSORED LINK: Help Fresh Energy ensure that clean energy is at the center of rebuilding our economy. Join Fresh Energy at their October 22 Virtual Benefit Breakfast fundraiser with keynote speaker Dr. Leah Stokes, a national expert on energy, climate, and environmental politics. Register here.***

COAL: Washington state regulatory staff say Puget Sound Energy’s plan to sell its stake in a Montana coal plant is not in ratepayers’ best interest. (Seattle Times)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• A Government Accountability Office report finds the Interior Department failed to determine need before issuing $4.5 million in royalty cuts to oil producers as pandemic relief. (E&E News)
• The Trump administration counters a judge’s order that William Perry Pendley served illegally as head of the Bureau of Land management by insisting he performed “no relevant acts” as director. (E&E News)

OIL & GAS:
• Wyoming environmental regulators deny an energy company’s request to discharge 400% more produced water per day from a controversial oil and gas project as part of its final permit. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Construction is complete on the largest oil and gas wastewater recycling facility in the Permian Basin. (Houston Chronicle)
• An analyst says Permian Basin oil companies will continue to see decreased production and demand as the coronavirus pandemic carries on. (Oil Price)

NUCLEAR: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a letter to President Trump opposes a proposed New Mexico nuclear waste facility, saying its Permian Basin location could put the country’s most active oil and gas field at risk. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

SOLAR: A Colorado trade organization wants a recent rule change by the state’s utility regulator overturned, claiming it would reduce bill credits received by community solar subscribers. (PV Magazine)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Arizona electric truck firm Nikola’s public relations crisis continues with accusations that the troubled company is using copyright law to silence its critics. (PR News, Techdirt)
• Colorado’s first public hydrogen fuel station is deployed at Colorado State University’s Energy Institute. (Colorado State University Source)

TECHNOLOGY: A new report says California could develop a lithium industry in the Salton Sea area that produces a third of the world’s supply. (Utility Dive)

COMMENTARY:
• Four New Mexico congressional candidates answer questions about issues related to the state’s energy future, water scarcity, and climate change. (New Mexico Political Report)
• Two former Hopi tribal chairmen want federal officials to ensure proper reclamation of two Arizona mines. (Navajo-Hopi Observer)
• Two Arizona energy experts say communities dependent on legacy industries like coal that are now in decline must be helped, citing the closure of Arizona’s Navajo Generating Station as an example. (Arizona Capitol Times) 

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.).