FOSSIL FUELS: A new analysis of the changing energy landscape at city level finds that California is leading the world in banning fossil fuels. (Gizmodo)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Colorado lawmakers are set to introduce a $4 billion transportation plan that includes new gas and road-usage fees starting July 2022, aiming to improve air quality and fund infrastructure projects. (Colorado Sun, CPR News)
• A Democratic lawmaker representing an exurban Seattle district continues to be the primary obstacle for clean transportation legislation in Washington state. (InvestigateWest)
• Amazon has begun testing its Rivian electric delivery vans in San Francisco. (TechCrunch)

OIL & GAS:
• A New Mexico environmental advocate says oil and gas companies and trade groups hold a “strong influence” over state lawmakers, resulting in bills that go against industry interests being blocked. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A four-year, $9.7 million study of an advanced oil recovery method could unlock billions more barrels of oil on Alaska’s North Slope. (Alaska Journal of Commerce)

ECONOMY: Colorado lawmakers unveil a $700 million state economic stimulus plan that includes between $10 million and $15 million to create new job opportunities as part of the state’s transition from coal. (Colorado Sun)

WIND: A new National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates state and local restrictions on wind turbines, particularly setback requirements, could adversely impact efforts to decarbonize the grid. (Inside Climate News)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• “I know Indian Country is watching everything we do at Interior:” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland meets with Indigenous activists and media outlets during her first day on the job. (Indian Country Today)
• The Petroleum Association of Wyoming joins a lawsuit challenging President Biden’s moratorium on new federal oil and gas leasing. (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
• Indigenous leaders want the Interior Department to act quickly to restore Bears Ears National Monument protections. (E&E News, subscription)
• A national watchdog group says a Bureau of Land Management employee is being wrongfully terminated after criticizing plans that would allow a Wyoming county’s oil and gas project to degrade raptor nesting sites. (WyoFile)

UTILITIES: Washington-based Avista Utilities expects up to $221 million in financial benefits from its $165 million five-year smart meter project by June. (Smart Energy International)

SOLAR:
• California’s Solar and Storage Association calls for net metering to be continued, saying the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities “want to own the sun and keep it out of the hands of everyday people.” (news release)
• Construction begins on Colorado State University’s 5.5 MW solar power project across 21 sites, almost doubling the institution’s solar capacity and helping reduce its carbon footprint. (Loveland Reporter-Herald)

HYDROPOWER: A large boulder destroys the pipeline that carries water to Colorado’s Ouray Hydroelectric Power Plant, the oldest operating hydro facility in the U.S. (Colorado Sun)

CLIMATE: Young Central Oregon climate activists are holding an in-person “climate strike” this afternoon, their first in almost a year. (KTVZ)

COMMENTARY:
• A University of Nevada professor says state lawmakers need to accelerate lithium mine licensing, citing climate concerns and increasing numbers of electric vehicles. (Northern Nevada Business Weekly)
• A California League of Conservation Voters official says the state’s legislature is not doing enough to combat the climate crisis. (CalMatters)

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.).