SOLAR: California considers an overhaul of its net metering policy to prevent increased costs on lower-income customers, and experts say the debate could set the stage for changes in other states, too. (E&E News) 

OIL & GAS:
• Navajo Nation citizens in northwest New Mexico say the Interior Department short-changed them to use tribal lands for fracking and failed to communicate about oil spills, gas releases, blowouts, and fires. (The Guardian)
• An interim report on the Interior Department’s review of its oil and gas permitting and leasing program is expected this summer. (The Hill)

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PIPELINES: The Interior Department is creating a unit focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women, a crisis linked to transient oil and gas workers living in “man camps” around pipelines. (E&E News)

COAL: A Wyoming bill designed to slow the closure of coal-fired power plants is headed to the governor, who backed the bill, and is likely to become law. (Casper Star Tribune) 

CLIMATE: A Colorado climate collaborative brings together local government and nonprofit leaders to work on electrifying buildings and transportation in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Vail Daily)

HYDROPOWER: A proposed pumped storage facility in Washington state would add to the ongoing dispossession of Pacific Northwest Native American tribes from their homelands, tribal leaders say. (Spokane Public Radio)

TRANSPORTATION: There’s growing interest in hydrogen as a potential alternative transportation fuel in the Pacific Northwest, including from transit agencies, state legislators and a Boeing subsidiary. (KUOW)

COMMENTARY:
• A Utah editorial board says Gov. Spencer Cox’s recent state of emergency declaration due to ongoing drought is “a waste of time” without climate action. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• A Montana climate advocate says it’s outrageous that state lawmakers are prioritizing Northwestern Energy’s “dirty energy” investments over constituents’ renewables interests. (Helena Independent Record)
• A Colorado hydrogen and fuel cell technology advocate says the state’s zero-emission goals must include both. (Colorado Sun)

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.).