TRANSMISSION: Federal agencies release a plan to update the Western power grid, a key development in a process that has languished since 2005. (Casper Star-Tribune)

UTILITIES:
• New Mexico regulators last week approved a new plan to scale up the energy efficiency and demand response programs of the state’s largest power utility from 2021 to 2023. (Renewable Energy Magazine)
• Southern California Gas Company insists it supports California’s renewable energy goals in response to questions from two of the state’s congressional delegates. (Utility Dive)

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CLIMATE: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says his new budget lays a foundation to build climate resiliency and expand renewable energy. (Denver Post)

CALIFORNIA:
• The first round of bankruptcy settlement payouts to victims of PG&E’s 2015, 2017, and 2018 wildfires aim to help with pandemic-driven economic difficulties and California’s 2020 fire season. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Experts say solar and storage are an increasingly attractive proposition for California ratepayers and businesses trying to cope with the state’s wildfires and planned outages. (GreenBiz)

COAL:
• Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is reportedly considering a wide-ranging plan to help struggling coal communities. (E&E News, subscription)
• Navajo Transitional Energy Co. will take ownership of a utility’s 13% share in a New Mexico coal-fired power plant in 2024. (Albuquerque Journal)

EMISSIONS: A Renewable Fuels Association official says a properly designed low-carbon or clean fuel standard would help Colorado reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Biomass Magazine)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• Joe Biden is reportedly considering three New Mexico lawmakers to head the Interior Department should he win the presidential election. (E&E News, subscription)
• Wyoming’s Office of State Lands and Investments is auctioning parcels of land for drilling on critical habitat for sage grouse and migratory mule deer. (Jackson Hole News & Guide)

CLEAN ENERGY: An Arizona measure requiring utilities to get all of their electricity from 100% carbon-free sources by 2050 must be compiled into a final rule to be voted on at a future meeting. (Greentech Media)

SOLAR: California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is constructing a 2 MW solar array on the grounds of a men’s facility. (Atascadero News)

COMMENTARY: A utilities strategy and policy expert says “smart energy programs” would benefit the grid, and cites Sacramento Municipal Utility District as an example of how to resolve the conflict between saving energy and increasing electrification. (Greentech Media)

Lisa Ellwood

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.).