HYDROPOWER: Xcel Energy seeks federal approval to build an 800 MW pumped hydropower storage installation — which would be Colorado’s largest hydroelectricity project — in a scenic canyon in the western part of the state. (Colorado Sun) 

OIL & GAS:
• Aerial surveys find 30 Permian Basin oil and gas facilities together emit more than 100,000 metric tons of methane each year. (Reuters)
• Conservative New Mexican lawmakers threaten to derail proposed funding increases for oil and gas regulators even though record fossil fuel revenues have given the state a huge budget surplus. (Capital & Main)
• Environmental advocates call on President Biden to reject ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow Alaskan Arctic drilling project, saying it’s incompatible with the administration’s climate goals. (Inside Climate News)
• Alaska regulators preliminarily approve an Anchorage company’s proposal to explore for coalbed methane sources to produce natural gas on nearly a million acres of state and private land. (Daily News-Miner)
• An Alaska agency takes steps to divest from financial institutions that won’t finance Arctic oil and gas projects. (Anchorage Daily News)

WIND: A southern Wyoming county approves a 590 MW wind project planned for 37,000 acres of mostly private land. (Laramie Boomerang) 

SOLAR:
• Southwestern Colorado’s Ute Mountain Ute Tribe seeks to sell solar power to replace dwindling fossil fuel revenue. (KSUT)
• Energy experts say California’s proposal to slash payments for rooftop solar would force grid operators to rely more on natural gas-fired power. (New York Times)

STORAGE: New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill offering a 40% tax credit for energy storage installations. (KSFR)

GRID: A powerful California windstorm topples trees and utility equipment, leaving tens of thousands of residents in both the northern and southern parts of the state without power for days. (East Bay Times, CBSLA)

UTILITIES:
• Arizona lawmakers consider a utility-backed bill repealing the law that allows for the establishment of a competitive retail electricity market. (ABC15)   
• Public Service Company of New Mexico asks the state Supreme Court to overturn regulators’ rejection of its plan to divest from the Four Corners coal power plant. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

TRANSITION: An analysis finds the transition away from fossil fuels will hit Wyoming harder than other states unless it can use coal and oil and gas revenues to diversify its economy. (Casper Star-Tribune)

COAL: Colorado investigators say a coal-seam fire at an abandoned mine may have ignited last month’s devastating Marshall Fire. (The Denver Channel)

NUCLEAR: Montana lawmakers consider replacing the Colstrip coal power plant with nuclear reactors even though none of its owners have expressed interest in the plan. (Independent Record)

TRANSPORTATION: Rising demand for minerals used in electric vehicles and batteries spurs new mining proposals across the West. (High Country News)  

COMMENTARY:
• A Utah editorial board urges state leaders to adopt ambitious clean energy targets and otherwise encourage renewable energy development to generate revenue and fight climate change. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Mojave Desert advocates say the energy transition will require understanding the Southwest’s deserts are “not wastelands to plunder” with unfettered renewable energy installations. (Nevada Independent)
• A Colorado columnist says we can transition away from fossil fuels without paving the desert with solar panels, but it will require a major shift in the way we think about and consume energy. (Durango Telegraph)

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.