GRID: A high-pressure dome over Washington, Oregon and northern California will bring record-breaking, power grid-straining temperatures to the region this weekend. (Reuters)

ALSO: An Idaho utility says transmission constraints, not a lack of generation, could lead to outages during the upcoming heatwave. (KTVB)

***SPONSORED LINK: Attend the NCEW21 Policy Makers Symposium to hear from industry leaders and policy makers charting a clean energy, low-carbon future during the 5th Annual National Clean Energy Week September 20-24, 2021! Registration opens June 22, don’t miss out! www.NationalCleanEnergyWeek.org ***

STORAGE:
• Washington regulators deny a water quality permit for a proposed $2.4 billion pumped-hydro storage project, but leave the door open for another attempt at certification. (Portland Business Journal, subscription)
• New Mexico utility regulators order Public Service Company of New Mexico to rework a plan to supply a Facebook data center with energy storage over its complexity and potential costs to other customers. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Berkeley Lab scientists develop high-energy-density battery materials as an alternative to supply-constrained lithium. (news release)

OIL & GAS:
• Interior Secretary Deb Haaland says the Biden administration has no plans to permanently ban oil and gas leasing on public lands. (Reuters)
• An Alaska state agency plans to conduct seismic oil-exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge even though the federal government paused its leases earlier this month. (Anchorage Daily News)
• A California county allows an oil company to continue to operate existing wells for ten more years as the company drops plans for new drilling. (Ventura County Star)
• Officials from New Mexico’s oil companies tell state lawmakers the industry is bouncing back from the coronavirus-caused slump. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

PUBLIC LANDS: Uncertainty over the future location of the Bureau of Land Management headquarters is hampering the hiring of senior staffers and implementation of administration goals. (E&E News, subscription)

WIND:
• A northern California county denies a permit to a proposed wind farm following opposition from Pit River tribal members and environmentalists. (Redding Record-Searchlight)
• Oregon state and federal agencies begin planning to build floating offshore wind farms. (KCFM) 

EFFICIENCY: Oregon State University plans to open a 50,000-square-foot net zero energy building this fall. (Spaces4Learning)

CLIMATE: New Mexico utility regulators formally recognize climate change as scientific fact. (Albuquerque Journal)

POLLUTION:
• The Environmental Protection Agency fines a Hawaii coal plant operator $200,000 for air quality violations. (Hawaii News Now)
• Utah officials use flimsy evidence to blame high Salt Lake City ozone levels on Chinese power plants. (Salt Lake Tribune)

COAL: A shuttered Colorado coal mine reopens as a producer and exporter of metallurgical coal. (Colorado Sun)

COMMENTARY:
• A California organizer urges state utility regulators to invest in renewable energy to fight the environmental racism of fossil fuels. (Inland Empire Community News)
• A Flagstaff city council member says the Arizona city’s recently passed carbon neutrality plan is too costly and has unrealistic goals. (Arizona Daily Sun)
• A California editorial board argues for an increase in the federal gas tax to fund infrastructure repairs. (Los Angeles Times)

Avatar photo

Jonathan P. Thompson

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.