TRANSPORTATION: A California agricultural town transitions from a “transportation desert” to one of the nation’s greenest farmworker communities by adopting an electric vehicle rideshare program that could serve as a model for the Biden administration’s green transportation push. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO:
• Colorado lawmakers draft a bill incentivizing commuters to carpool, take public transit and telecommute to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. (Colorado Public Radio)   
• Utah utility officials say the state’s power grid can only support 50% electric vehicle adoption without significant upgrades. (Fox13) 

UTILITIES:
• Pacific Power submits its clean energy plan to Washington state regulators, which includes adding renewable energy generation and storage, as well as implementing energy efficiency programs and demand response incentives. (Yakima Herald)
• Pacific Gas & Electric, Portland General Electric and NorthWestern Energy join a Biden administration effort and vow not to shut off service to customers seeking financial assistance. (Newsweek)

GRID:
• More than 3,000 northern California residents are still without power two weeks after a major snowstorm toppled power lines and damaged utility equipment. (Sacramento Bee)
• Colorado livestock operators urge Xcel Energy to reroute a proposed high-voltage transmission line to avoid crossing ranchland. (Fence Post)

OIL & GAS:
• A congressional committee will investigate the U.S. Navy’s handling of leaks and water contamination at a Hawaii fueling facility. (E&E News, subscription)
• Environmentalists urge the U.S. Forest Service to reverse its preliminary approval of a Utah railway which would send three to 10 trains of waxy crude oil through Colorado per day. (Colorado Sun)
• Spokane, Washington’s city council votes to allow a major petroleum pipeline to continue operating within the city limits. (Spokesman-Review)
• A New Mexico oilfield equipment manufacturing company uses a state grant to add 180 employees. (Farmington Daily Times)
• Utah regulators estimate three-fourths of the state’s 400 orphaned oil and gas wells are on federal land and are adjacent to rural or tribal communities. (Deseret News)

ELECTRIFICATION: California electrification advocates tout the virtues of electric ranges to overcome home cooks’ affinity for gas stoves. (Los Angeles Times)  

HYDROPOWER: Federal officials begin releasing less water from Lake Powell in an attempt to keep water levels above the minimum needed for hydroelectricity production.  (The Spectrum)

SOLAR: Construction begins on a 100 MW solar installation with 50 MWh of storage in Kern County, California, an oil and gas and wind power hub. (Tehachapi News)

CLEAN ENERGY: The Alaska Renewable Energy Fund seeks grant proposals for developing projects in remote parts of the state. (Arctic Sounder)

CLIMATE:
• Hawaii lawyers cite a COVID-19 wrongful death ruling in their effort to hold the oil and gas industry liable for contributing to climate change and its impacts. (E&E News, subscription)
• A massive Nevada gold mine proposes a $600 million ore-transportation railway to replace trucks and cut carbon emissions. (E&E News)

COAL: Wyoming researchers near completion of two wells to test injecting carbon captured from a nearby coal power plant deep underground. (Wyoming Public Radio)

COMMENTARY: An environmental advocate says New Mexico regulators’ rejection of the Avangrid-PNM merger robbed the state of investment in renewable energy, lower electricity rates and economic development funds. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

Avatar photo

Jonathan P. Thompson

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.