CALIFORNIA: An investigation by the State of California finds that PG&E transmission lines ignited the Kincade Fire in October 2019. (San Francisco Chronicle)

SOLAR: FERC unanimously agrees that action on a petition asking the agency to end net metering advanced by a shadowy group with ties to the fossil fuel industry “is not warranted at this time.” (Desert Sun, PV Magazine)

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CLEAN ENERGY: A new report indicates 19,800 jobs returned to California’s clean energy workforce last month. (InsideClimate News)

COAL: Local leaders in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin aren’t ready to give up on coal despite grim projections about the industry’s decline. (County 17)

CLIMATE:
• Sacramento’s municipal utility board votes to adopt a climate emergency declaration that could make it the first independent utility to commit to a goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. (PV Magazine)
• JD Power’s first ever sustainability index finds customers of two Western utilities are among those most concerned about climate change, and Wyoming has the largest percentage of climate change skeptics. (Power Engineering)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Registrations of Tesla electric vehicles in California dropped 48% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020. (Reuters)
• A California-based company renews its letter of intent for a proposed electric vehicle manufacturing facility west of Spokane, Washington. (Spokesman-Review)
• A behind-the-scenes look at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, where it makes batteries for its electric cars and energy storage products, finds the facility now produces 13 million battery cells per day. (Electrek)

NATURAL GAS: Oregon regulators are facing criticism for allowing gas utilities to pursue renewable natural gas and pass the added costs onto customers. (Portland Business Journal)

OIL & GAS:
• A group of Colorado oil and gas executives and legislators say that state regulations are more detrimental to the sector than the coronavirus crisis. (BizWest Media)
• An Alaska judge backs supporters of a ballot measure aiming to raise taxes on major oil producers. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Colorado’s oil and gas regulator is undergoing changes while rewriting the rules governing the industry. (Denver Business Journal)

POLITICS: Utah officials are praising the Trump’s administration’s change of the National Environmental Policy Act designed to speed up infrastructure projects. (Deseret News)

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PUBLIC LANDS: Montana Sen. John Tester introduces a bill that would end a BLM practice allowing oil and gas companies to buy leases for $1.50 per acre. (Public News Service)

COMMENTARY:
• New Mexico State Rep. Angelica Rubio says the state’s economy can grow by transitioning to zero-emissions transportation. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A conservationist group says phasing out fossil fuel development in favor of clean energy projects on federal lands can provide economic and environmental benefits. (Wilderness Society)

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.).