PUBLIC LANDS: The Trump administration’s relocation of Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado reduced the number of Black employees, drove out senior workers and created staff shortages, a government report finds. (Washington Post)  

UTILITIES:
• A municipally-owned Colorado utility confirms its equipment sparked a deadly fire burning at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Ventura, California, residents urge state and federal authorities to block SoCalGas from expanding a natural gas compressor near an elementary school. (news release)
• Nevada’s largest natural gas utility pushes to expand its infrastructure even as environmentalists and investors call for a transition away from the fuel. (Nevada Independent)

SOLAR:
• Southern California Edison’s new time-of-use rate plan reduces financial incentives for rooftop solar by lowering payments for power pumped back into the grid. (Orange County Register)
• Montana’s largest rooftop solar installation goes online to power a Missoula detention center. (Missoulian) 

CLIMATE:
• San Diego County officials unveil a plan to use “proven, scalable technologies” to eliminate carbon emissions by 2045. (San Diego Union-Tribune) 
• The University of Montana prepares to break ground on a natural gas combined heat and power plant intended to decrease energy costs as it uses steam from electricity production to produce heat. (Montana Kaimin) 

NUCLEAR: Pacific Gas & Electric officials say the utility still plans to close Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in 2025 despite a recent study touting the climate and cost benefits of continued operation. (San Luis Obispo Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators propose monitoring and limiting runoff of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from a Denver refinery. (Colorado Sun)
• A Wyoming company agrees to pay $2 million for natural resource damages from a 2015 crude oil pipeline spill into the Yellowstone River. (KULR)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Oregon regulators approve a plan to shift heavy trucks and buses away from fossil fuels by requiring manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2025. (OPB)
• A million electric vehicles have been sold in California as of this month, and they have become the state’s largest export, an energy official says. (Utility Dive)  
• Alaska’s first electric school bus performs well even in potentially battery-draining 40-below-zero temperatures. (Alaska Public Media)   

COAL:
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon threatens to sue the EPA if the agency does not approve a proposed plan to cut emissions from the Bridger coal plant before the end of the year, when the plant will fall out of compliance with federal regulations. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Western U.S. coal production surges to meet increasing demand triggered by  high natural gas prices. (S&P Global)

WIND: The Audubon Society sues a California county, claiming it failed to adequately assess and avoid impacts to birds and bats when approving an 80 MW Altamont Pass wind facility. (news release)

COMMENTARY: An environmental advocate calls on the Biden administration to revoke a permit to build a road to facilitate mining of metals used for clean energy applications in remote Alaska. (Washington Post)

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.