PUBLIC LANDS: While the Senate continues to deliberate Deb Haaland’s nomination to lead the Interior Department, the agency is already moving quickly to address climate change and slow fossil fuel development. (New York Times)

ALSO: The Senate energy committee may take a vote on Haaland’s nomination tomorrow, and Maine Sen. Susan Collins becomes the first Republican to say she will vote for confirmation. (Native News Online, The Hill) 

COAL:
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon in his State of the State address calls on lawmakers to support bills that would save the state’s coal industry, and says the state “can and must be a leader in carbon capture and other emerging technologies.” (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A Sierra Club attorney says bankrupt coal operator Blackjewel’s desire to abandon almost 200 mining permits in the Southeast, which could create a clean-up and land reclamation crisis, is “the tip of the iceberg” of similar bankruptcies to come. (Inside Climate News)
• The closure of the Navajo Generating Station raises questions over what happens to the plant’s water rights. (Circle of Blue)

NUCLEAR: A proposed Nevada bill would require the federal government to get the approval of state, local and tribal entities before building a permanent nuclear waste repository. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

EQUITY: Community activists in the Pacific Northwest note that climate change is compounding inequities for communities of color and other marginalized groups. (Investigate West)

UTILITIES:
• New Mexico’s House advances a utility affordability and relief bill that would create a long-term assistance program for low-income families and require utilities to develop payment plans for ratepayers. (Albuquerque Journal, Los Alamos Reporter)
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says the state’s ratepayers should not be expected to cover utility losses resulting from recent extreme winter weather. (Colorado Sun)
• San Diego’s mayor announces the city’s energy accounts will be switched to its newly-launched community choice energy program serving five cities in the region, aiming to have all city facilities powered by 100% renewables. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• An analysis of PG&E’s 2020 corporate political donations data finds that the bankrupt utility gave $2.1 million to state lawmakers, political party organizations, and ballot proposition campaigns. (KXTV)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla partners with a Central Oregon indoor go-kart business to make its electric vehicles available to prospective customers to test drive. (KTVZ)

COMMENTARY:
• A Colorado editorial board supports Deb Haaland’s nomination as Interior Secretary, citing her bipartisan congressional record as evidence of her willingness to lead by consensus. (Boulder Daily Camera)
• A climate and clean energy expert says extreme weather events in California and Texas show electricity grid reforms are seriously needed. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• An Arizona lawmaker says a bill to limit state regulators’ authority to set energy policy is “an unconstitutional power grab.” (Arizona Mirror)

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.).