SOLAR: A cryptocurrency mining company wants to develop a 1,600 acre solar array south of Butte, Montana, less than a mile from where county officials rejected plans for a storage facility last week. (Montana Standard)

ALSO: A California judge is weighing whether to combine two complaints about Tesla’s solar roof pricing into a single class action lawsuit. (Business Insider)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• An Arizona regulator says the state’s proposed 100% clean energy requirement is back on the agency’s agenda in a commentary explaining why the initial plan was rejected. (Arizona Daily Star)
• By locating a renewable energy-powered data center in New Mexico, Facebook lured 10 additional wind and solar projects to the state, according to a company report. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

PUBLIC LANDS: Critics say the Biden administration’s plan to conserve public land will limit the country’s ability to mine lithium, cobalt and other materials critical to clean energy technology. (Deseret News)

GRID:
• California’s drought is cutting hydropower production and forcing more reliance on natural gas, hindering efforts to cut emissions. (Reuters)
• Nevada’s state Senate unanimously approves an energy bill that would expand transmission infrastructure. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• California regulators propose adding 11.5 GW of new generation resources between 2023 and 2026 to support the state’s transition to clean energy. (RTO Insider, subscription)

OIL & GAS:
• California’s oil regulator issues a draft regulation that would ban all fracking permits starting in 2024. (Palm Springs Desert Sun)
• Colorado regulators approve a $12 million upgrade to Suncor’s refinery northeast of Denver as part of a settlement over years of pollution violations. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado now has the strongest setback rules for oil and gas wells, but they don’t apply to thousands of yet-to-be-drilled wells, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is caught between labor and environmentalists when it comes to creating similar setback rules in his state. (Denver Post; E&E News, subscription)

COAL:
• A Canadian company hopes to extract rare earth minerals and make cement from coal ash at New Mexico power plants. (Albuquerque Journal)
• The fate of a relatively new coal power plant is dividing Colorado Democrats regarding a sweeping climate change bill. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Environmental groups are opposing a New Mexico utility’s plan to exit its share of the Four Corners Power Plant. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• A new podcast series explores Wyoming’s efforts to save its coal industry by backing carbon capture technology. (Grist/Wyoming Public Media)

TRANSPORTATION: The city of Loveland, Colorado, is installing a compressed natural gas fueling facility as it transitions its heavy truck fleet away from diesel. (Reporter-Herald)

POLITICS: Power outages this summer could determine the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political career as he faces a recall vote this summer over last year’s grid crisis. (Los Angeles Times)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial argues Colorado needs to increase its gasoline tax “after years of voters refusing to raise taxes to fund transportation needs.” (Denver Post)
• A National Grid executive writes that “targeted investment” in nationwide transmission infrastructure would create hundreds of thousands of green jobs and help fight the climate crisis. (Energy News Network)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.