SOLAR:
• Community-level, crowdsourced initiatives aim to bring solar power to 15,000 Hopi and Navajo families who lack electricity with a mix of distributed generation and utility-scale projects. (Arizona Republic)
• The first phase of a 450 MW solar installation near Palm Springs, California, is set to go online next month. (ENR California)

GRID:
• A federally funded study finds strengthening connections between the Eastern and Western grids would be cost effective, increase reliability, and facilitate generation sharing across regions. (news release)
• California regulators explore streamlining utility programs that aim to ease grid strain by paying large customers to reduce power use during high demand times. (Canary Media)
• Xcel Energy proposes building major solar and wind power installations in Eastern Colorado along with high-voltage transmission lines to carry it to the state’s population centers. (Big Pivots)

ELECTRIFICATION: Eugene, Oregon, moves toward becoming the state’s first city to ban natural gas hookups in all new construction. (DeSmog) 

UTILITIES: California’s Public Utility Commission votes not to release emails between its members and Gov. Gavin Newsom relating to Pacific Gas & Electric’s liabilities for sparking the 2018 Camp Fire. (ABC10)

TRIBAL LANDS: Indigenous leaders urge federal lawmakers to respect tribal energy sovereignty and remove financial barriers to renewable energy development on tribal lands. (E&E News, subscription)  

CLIMATE: Washington state regulators begin formulating rules for bills passed this spring, including a cap-and-trade law, a low-carbon fuel standard, and a law cutting refrigerant greenhouse gases. (RTO Insider, subscription) 

HYDROPOWER: California energy officials consider seeding clouds to increase precipitation and boost hydropower production. (RTO Insider, subscription)

OIL & GAS:
• San Diego County officials call for an end to offshore oil and gas leasing in southern California. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• The Biden administration fights a court ruling ending its oil and gas leasing moratorium even as it moves forward on lease sales. (E&E News, subscription)

TRANSPORTATION:
• California regulators propose emissions-reduction rules for diesel powered sportfishing and whale-watching boats. (Los Angeles Times)
• Nevada is set to receive $38 million from the federal infrastructure act to build electric vehicle charging stations in rural and other underserved areas. (KTVN)
• New Mexico regulators look to expand recently implemented transportation electrification plans beyond the state’s three investor-owned utilities to speed electric vehicle deployment. (NM Political Report)   

COAL: The recently signed federal infrastructure bill could double funding for cleaning up Colorado’s abandoned coal mines and extinguishing underground coal seam fires. (Colorado Public Radio)

COMMENTARY: Phasing out natural gas for power, heating and cooking and replacing it with wind- and solar-generated electricity will stabilize and lower utility bills, an energy affordability advocate says. (CalMatters)

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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.