GRID: A new report indicates that California must accelerate solar, wind, and battery storage permitting and construction if it is to achieve its mandate of a 100% clean energy grid by 2045. (Bloomberg)

OIL & GAS:
• The president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association says the state’s industry is committed to addressing pollution and climate change and hopes to continue to work closely with federal regulators under Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Officials in a northern Colorado county approve a moratorium on new oil and gas permitting as they work to revise regulations. (Fort Collins Coloradoan)
• Colorado conservation groups are suing the state over an air pollution permit they say could potentially allow thousands of new oil and gas wells throughout the state. (news release)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• The Interior Department says it will publish monthly data on federal drilling permits. (E&E News, subscription)
• A Wyoming whistleblowing case could be a “litmus test” on the Biden administration’s commitment to career Bureau of Land Management employees.  (E&E News, subscription)
• The Biden administration wants a case dropped defending a Trump executive order reopening millions of acres in the Arctic for oil and gas exploration. (E&E News, subscription)
• Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert invites Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to visit the Bureau of Land Management’s new headquarters in the state before making a decision on moving it back to Washington, DC. (E&E News, subscription)
• A new lawsuit by Native American and conservation organizations is calling on the Interior Department to put a five-year block on all federal waters leasing for offshore oil and gas development. (news release)

SOLAR:
• California’s three largest investor-owned utilities file a joint proposal with state regulators that would lead to new connection charges and lower compensation for customers with rooftop solar. (Bloomberg)
• Solar industry advocates dispute utilities’ claims that ratepayers are paying more to “subsidize” solar customers, and that wealthier Californians are disproportionately benefiting from net metering. (Solar Power World, PV Tech Magazine)

NUCLEAR: Southern California Edison and an independent panel of experts release an action plan calling for the federal government to find a new repository for San Onofre nuclear plant waste. (OC Register)

UTILITIES:
• Xcel Energy ratepayers in Colorado could face a rate increase next month, but it would not include fuel costs from last month’s extreme winter weather which is still under investigation. (Denver Post)
• Washington state environmental groups sue Electron Hydro LLC for polluting the Puyallup River during a construction project last year, alleging the utility violated a federal law. (Associated Press)

MICROGRIDS: A Southern California city approves a contract for solar-based microgrids at five city facilities. (Microgrid Knowledge)

TRANSPORTATION: A Denver environmental official says cars are a problem for the region, regardless of whether or not they’re electric. (303 Magazine)

CLIMATE: Private businesses in Missoula, Montana are setting their own goals and taking action to cut carbon emissions. (Missoula Current)

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.).