CLIMATE: California’s drop in pollution during the coronavirus pandemic could hurt the state’s climate programs by draining revenue from its cap-and-trade system. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• Former climate policy staffers for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s presidential campaign want congressional Democrats and presidential candidate Joe Biden to adopt pieces of Inslee’s comprehensive climate plan. (Washington Post)
• Political experts say the governors of Washington and California are among those who could use their popularity in fighting the coronavirus crisis to get ambitious climate legislation passed. (E&E News)

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TECHNOLOGY: Tesla says a new battery under development could make its electric cars as cheap as gasoline models, and that the batteries could find a second life as grid resources. (Reuters) 

OVERSIGHT: Arizona’s state Supreme Court upholds the ruling of a lower court that removed a state regulator from the ballot over forged signatures. (Capitol Media Services)

RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• New Mexico’s renewable energy sector continues to advance despite the coronavirus crisis as state leaders try to diversify the state’s energy economy. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Hawaiian Electric announces it wants to purchase 460 MW of solar energy and  3 GWh of storage, which will increase the utility’s total solar capacity by more than 50%. (Utility Dive)

CALIFORNIA:
• PG&E is challenging four new probation requirements from its 2016 conviction of gas-pipeline safety crimes, claiming they “undermine fire safety.” (Los Angeles Times)
• PG&E wildfire victims have until 4 p.m. today to vote on the utility’s $13.5 billion settlement deal, but some survivors are calling for an extension. (KRCR, NPR)

OIL & GAS:
• A spokesperson for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association says oil consumption and demand should begin to increase as state economies re-open from coronavirus restrictions. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• California oil and gas regulators are willing to consider breaks on some regulations for producers who can show that their business has suffered hardship because of the coronavirus crisis. (KQED)

UTILITIES: After Pueblo, Colorado voters rejected a plan to cut ties with Black Hills Energy, the utility says it is focused on lowering rates and advancing renewable energy goals. (KOAA)

GRID: A recently completed substation in New Mexico is expected to improve grid reliability in three states. (Transmission and Distribution World)

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EFFICIENCY: Missoula, Montana approves an agreement to convert the city’s street lights to LEDs. (KPAX)

COMMENTARY:
• A Wyoming energy expert explains why the newly-created Wyoming Energy Authority is integral to the future of the state’s struggling energy industry. (Laramie Boomerang)
• An Arizona public interest group executive says Arizona Public Service and the state’s utility regulators are failing to provide relief the utility’s struggling ratepayers need amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Prescott eNews)

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.).