OVERSIGHT: A key Republican announces he will not support a bill to strip Arizona regulators of their authority to set clean energy requirements, likely ensuring it will not pass the state’s closely divided Senate. (Arizona Republic)

SOLAR: California Democrats are divided over how to proceed with solar incentives, amid growing concern that current structures contribute to economic inequality. (Politico)

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STORAGE: Apple announces it’s building a 240 MW “grid-scale” energy-storage project at its Northern California solar farm, and purchasing more than $50 million worth of Tesla batteries. (Ars Technica, Electrek)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California’s utilities regulator wants an independent investigation of a San Diego Gas & Electric electric vehicle charging program that ran $25 million over budget before starting its second phase. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

CLIMATE:
• A proposed Colorado bill aiming to meet the state’s emissions reduction goals faces opposition from Gov. Jared Polis. (Denver Business Journal)
• California water experts say a statewide megadrought is possible after much-needed March rainfall did not materialize. (KPIX)

WIND: A new study raises questions about whether repowering older wind farms with fewer, larger turbines will reduce the rate of wildlife deaths. (news release)

OIL & GAS:
• A geologist says a new discovery of light, high-quality oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska indicates an oil-bearing regional geologic formation could be larger than thought. (S&P Global)
• New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Division reports it plugged 42 orphaned oil wells at a cost of roughly $1.6 million in 2020. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

TRANSPORTATION:
• President Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan could benefit major Bay Area transportation initiatives as well as those in Washington state. (San Francisco Chronicle, KING 5)
• Wyoming’s legislature passes a bill exempting electric motorcycles and multi-purpose vehicles from annual decals and fees for plug-in electric vehicles. (Oil City News)
• Amazon is expanding its services to include charging other companies’ electric vehicle fleets. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• Southern California Edison is set to remove 11,000 palm trees in its service area as part of its wildfire mitigation efforts. (Associated Press)
• A Southern California community choice energy program is considering joining the California Community Power Joint Powers Authority. (Del Mar Times)

EFFICIENCY: A Colorado home efficiency program is raising the ceiling for loans and doubling its effort to reach more low-to-moderate-income renters. (Coloradoan)

COMMENTARY:
• The former staff attorney of Montana’s utilities regulator opposes a state bill that would make ratepayers financially responsible for Northwestern Energy’s Colstrip power plant investments. (Seeley Swan Pathfinder)
• Two advocates say non-Native energy companies and investors need to support the Navajo and Hopi Nations with renewables redevelopment in the wake of the Navajo Generating Station and Kayenta coal mine closures. (GreenBiz)

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.).