LITHIUM: A federal judge allows the developer of a proposed lithium mine in Nevada to go ahead with preliminary excavation, thereby denying opponents’ bid to stop the work on environmental grounds. (Reuters)

CLIMATE:
• Last month’s Northwest heatwave was the deadliest weather-related event in Washington’s history, as health officials revise the death toll to 112. (KUOW)
• Utah’s Great Salt Lake hits an all time record-low level due to prolonged drought. (Associated Press)
• Climate change is disproportionately affecting people of color in New Mexico, according to climate experts. (NM Political Report)

COAL:
• A Washington county that held off a proposal for a coal export terminal will vote this week on a permanent ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure. (KNKX)  
• A Colorado power plant comes back online after a fire in a coal-storage facility shut the facility down. (Fort Morgan Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicle-manufacturer Falcon announces plans to build its final-assembly facility in Sheridan, Wyoming. (Wyoming Tribune)  
• A California school district plans to add eight electric school buses to its fleet this fall. (news release)
• Anaheim, California’s public transit network plans to replace five liquid natural gas-powered buses with electric ones as part of its goal to run a zero-emission fleet by 2025. (news release)
• A Colorado energy-efficiency nonprofit gives e-bikes to income-qualifying essential workers who were impacted by the pandemic. (Durango Herald)

UTILITIES:
• Past wildfire victims who were compensated in part with Pacific Gas & Electric stock see the value of their payment trust plunge as the Dixie Fire — which the utility says may have been caused by its equipment — continues to burn.  (ABC10)
• A court is likely to decide the fate of an Alaska program, defunded by the governor earlier this year, meant to keep the cost of rural electricity down. (KTOO)

GRID:
• Power use in California did not decrease during recent conservation alerts, according to the state’s grid operators. (Newsweek)
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill expanding a renewable energy program’s eligibility to tribal governments. (Sierra Sun Times)
• A major transmission line carrying Oregon hydropower to California is back online even though the Bootleg Fire which forced its near-shutdown continues to burn. (S&P Global) 

HYDROPOWER: Pacific Gas & Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs extend a partnership agreement on a hydropower facility in Oregon. (Daily Energy Insider)

EFFICIENCY: Construction begins on Arizona’s first “living” building, a net energy positive structure powered by solar. (Phoenix Business Journal, subscription)

SOLAR: A Wyoming-based company announces plans to build a 250 MW solar facility in the central part of the state. (Rawlins Times)

STORAGE: Preliminary work is set to begin on a 500 MW pumped hydroelectric storage facility near San Diego. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• Stanford researchers develop a method of converting methane into methanol, which they say could be used to significantly reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas operations. (E&E News, subscription)
• A Colorado county’s commissioners delay a vote on new oil and gas regulations after receiving an “overwhelming” amount of public comments. (Reporter-Herald)

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.