HYDROPOWER: A federal judge strikes down a Trump-era rule limiting state and tribal regulation of water pollution, potentially giving tribes more power to fight Northwest hydroelectric dams. (E&E News) 

CLIMATE:
• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham calls on state legislators to make the state’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 a law, drawing praise from environmentalists. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Colorado’s plan to decarbonize buildings by increasing efficiency and requiring utilities to reduce emissions is “groundbreaking,” clean energy advocates say. (Big Pivots)
• Indigenous advocates from Western states will demand a greater voice in climate change efforts at next week’s COP26 conference. (Arizona Republic)

WIND:
• A federal study finds floating offshore wind turbines could feasibly and economically produce 35% of Oahu, Hawaii’s electricity needs. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription)
• A northern California harbor district seeks federal funds to build up offshore wind production facilities and infrastructure to position itself as the state’s offshore wind energy hub. (Times-Standard)

GRID:
• The U.S. Department of Energy grants $6.4 million to a Utah pilot project connecting grid-interactive efficient buildings to optimize distributed energy resources. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• High winds and rains damage electrical equipment in the Northwest, leaving tens of thousands without power and cutting an Alaska island off from its largest hydroelectric facility. (OPB, KTOO)

UTILITIES:
• Public Service Company of New Mexico clarifies it doesn’t want to avoid state oversight as it builds out energy storage at a Facebook data center, putting the facility’s proposed expansion back on track. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• California’s largest utilities ask regulators to allow new natural gas units to count against an 11.5 GW procurement order, while environmentalists push for only clean energy sources. (Utility Dive)
• Northern California’s Dixie Fire, believed to have been started by utility equipment, is 100% contained after burning nearly 1 million acres. (KCRA) 

STORAGE: A New Mexico public school breaks ground on U.S. Department of Energy-funded solar system equipped with the state’s largest capacity battery storage system. (news release)

SOLAR: California solar advocates hope to gather 100,000 public comments in favor of preserving state rooftop solar net metering policies. (news release) 

TRANSPORTATION: Advocates say a Colorado utility’s proposed state-mandated electric vehicle incentives don’t do enough to help low-income customers switch to EVs. (Colorado Sun)

OIL & GAS: A California city could spend as much as $150 million in abandonment costs to end oil and gas production in the next couple of decades, according to projections. (Long Beach Post)

COAL: Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico develop a method for extracting rare earth metals from coal ash using a food-grade solvent. (news release)

COMMENTARY: A California columnist says nuclear power is the “best weapon in our arsenal” for fighting climate change. (Los Angeles Times)

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.