CLIMATE: “This is a now problem, not a future problem.” Colorado is beginning to pay for decades of burning fossil fuels as raging wildfires, shrinking water flows and rising temperatures take a toll. (Denver Post)

COAL: America’s two biggest coal companies say they can’t compete without attempting a potentially illegal merger, setting up a high-stakes legal drama that could decide the fate of the companies and industry. (Forbes)

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STORAGE: The largest grid battery in the world is now online near San Diego, part of a wave of massive battery projects under construction in California as the state grapples with a heatwave and outages. (Greentech Media)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham stresses clean energy jobs during her Democratic National Convention speech. (Santa Fe New Mexican, subscription)
• Several possible clean energy solutions exist to help California avoid power shortages on hot summer evenings, experts say. (Los Angeles Times)

OIL & GAS:
• Environmental organizations sue the BLM and Interior Department over plans to allow expanded oil and gas drilling in southwest Colorado. (Denver Post)
• Southern California Gas continues to draw down a natural gas storage facility to meet cooling demand during the extended heatwave. (S&P Global)
• Occidental Petroleum reveals the $1.33 billion purchase and sale agreement of its Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah Land Grant assets. (news release)

OVERSIGHT: Environmentalists in a new court filing challenge language in New Mexico’s energy transition law they say eliminates standards of regulatory review meant to protect customers and derails due process. (Associated Press)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• Few oil companies appear interested in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge despite Trump’s efforts to auction off drilling rights. (Quartz)
• Legal experts say William Perry Pendley’s succession orders dictating that he remain acting director of the Bureau of Land Management if the director role remains unfilled is likely illegal. (The Hill)

SOLAR:
• A $500 million Pueblo, Colorado, steel plant expansion will include construction of a $250 million, 240 MW solar installation. (Denver Post)
• An Irish multinational conglomerate announces the first phase completion of its 308 kW Colorado solar project. (Solar Power World)

UTILITIES:
• Arizona’s three largest utilities ask ratepayers to reduce their energy usage in a bid to lessen the potential for blackouts. (Arizona Republic)
• Concerns are raised about Nevada Energy’s supply plan after the utility “mistakenly” robocalls ratepayers due to an “unprecedented” demand for power. (Nevada Independent, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

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TECHNOLOGY: PG&E is using artificial intelligence to help identify high risk wildfire areas. (CIO)

COMMENTARY:
• Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso explains how the state is working to discover new uses for carbon emissions. (Laramie Boomerang)
• A renewable energy advocate says California officials need to act on the potential of utility-scale wind and solar to provide additional reliability for the state’s power grid. (REVE)

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.).