COAL: Colorado regulators reject Xcel Energy’s bid to operate its Comanche 3 coal power plant, which has been offline since January, until 2034, citing concerns about cost and reliability. (Colorado Sun)

OIL & GAS:
• A federal judge blocks five Trump-era oil and gas lease sales in Nevada and Montana for failing to comply with greater sage grouse protections. (E&E News)
• ConocoPhillips officials continue to search for the source of a methane leak at an oil and gas drilling facility on Alaska’s North Slope 10 days after it was detected. (Alaska Public Media)
• Washington state researchers find methane flaring can cause respiratory distress in people who live up to 60 miles away from the facility. (NM Political Report)
• Residents of a Colorado city protest a real estate developer’s proposal to drill 26 oil and gas wells on the community’s fringe. (Loveland Reporter-Herald)
• A media analysis finds California’s oil and gas industry spends four times more on lobbying than environmental advocacy groups and six times more than clean energy firms. (Capital & Main)
• California analysts say ratcheting up oil and gas production in the state will not affect prices at the pump. (Governing)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Renewables provide 70% of Kauai, Hawaii’s electricity, largely insulating it from the oil price shocks plaguing the rest of the petroleum-powered state. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• A Portland business group calls on the city to freeze spending for a clean energy fund after it raised three times more money than expected and auditors found flaws. (Portland Tribune, subscription)

STORAGE: A California startup explores using oil wells as “thermal wellsprings” to store solar-generated power. (IEEE Spectrum)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A transportation package passed by Washington state lawmakers last week includes a provision that would end sales of gasoline-powered cars by 2030. (Smart Cities Dive)
• The Port of San Diego purchases 14 electric trucks and vans to launch its conversion to a zero-emissions fleet. 

WIND:
• Duke energy investigates last month’s collapse of a 262-foot wind turbine at one of its Wyoming facilities. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A renewable energy company study finds Oregon’s Port of Coos Bay to be well-suited for offshore wind power development. (The World)

GRID: Idaho National Laboratory researchers develop armored barriers to protect transformers from gunshots and explosives after gunmen shot up a California substation in 2013. (Manufacturing Business Technology)

UTILITIES: A California judge gives Pacific Gas & Electric an additional month to reach an agreement with Sonoma County prosecutors over 30 criminal charges stemming from the 2019 Kincaid Fire. (Press-Democrat)  

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Energy Department awards $8.5 million to Terra Power, which plans to build an advanced nuclear reactor in Wyoming, to develop methods to recover uranium from spent reactor fuel. (Oil City News)

COMMENTARY: A Colorado advocate says the oil industry is exploiting the Ukraine crisis to reap record profits and reward shareholders. (Boulder Daily Camera)

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.