EQUITY: Advocates warn a California utility’s renewable natural gas push will further entrench industrial feedlots that are a major source of pollution in rural communities. (Discover)

OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico leaders are divided over President Biden’s infrastructure package prioritizing transitioning to clean energy, particularly its impact on the state’s oil and gas production. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A Central California county continues to pursue fossil fuel development despite the state’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. (Washington Post)
• A hearing is set this week for a proposed California bill aiming to institute 2,500-foot setbacks for new and repermitted wells and ban fracking. (Grist)
• Oil production activity in Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of New Mexico rose in the last quarter, marking the first year-on-year increase since 2019 according to a new report. (Reuters)

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CLIMATE: Washington’s state Senate last week approved bills to set a price on carbon emissions and establish a low-carbon fuel standard, with both facing strong opposition from Republicans. (Seattle Times)

UTILITIES: A majority of the latest criminal charges filed against PG&E for 2019’s Kincade Fire are for emitting smoke and ash, endangering public health as well as property. (San Francisco Chronicle)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ride-hailing companies in California could be required to make their fleets electric by 2030 under a proposal to be decided by the state’s Air Resources Board next month. (Gizmodo)
• A Colorado mayor negotiates an agreement with Rivian to install four proprietary fast chargers and four slower chargers open to the general public in their city. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Colorado auto dealers are skeptical that consumer demand will be strong enough for the state to meet its electric vehicle targets. (Colorado Sun)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• Emails obtained by a watchdog group reveal state superintendents from Alaska, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming may have helped with attacking President Biden’s moratorium on new federal oil and gas leases. (Gizmodo)
• Native American tribes are hoping for a systemic change to federal land use policy to decrease adverse impacts from oil and gas projects. (CleanTechnica)

SOLAR: A California church says it is saving $10,000 annually in energy costs thanks to its rooftop solar installation. (KOVR)

COMMENTARY:
• California U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier advocates for renewables, saying the Bay Area and the nation must prepare for the transition to clean energy. (Mercury News)
• A New Mexico editorial board says state regulators must consider if a merger of the state’s largest power utility with Avangrid is in the best interest of the public. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A California editorial board says state lawmakers should reject a proposed bill aiming to ban fracking by 2027. (Redlands Daily Facts)
• A Montana editorial board says the state’s House should vote to kill a bill aiming to save the Colstrip Power Plant, citing the costs to be passed on to ratepayers. (Billings Gazette)
• Two Bay Area editorial boards say utility ratepayers need other alternatives to PG&E for safe, reliable power. (Mercury News)

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.).