OIL & GAS: A federal judge blocks two Trump-era drilling plans on over 400,000 acres in Wyoming and Montana because federal land managers failed to consider the projects’ effects on the greater sage grouse. (Associated Press)

ALSO:
• Two days after New Mexico Democrats expressed support for the Biden administration’s leasing freeze, state Republican lawmakers ask for an exemption from the moratorium. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• New Mexico regulators approve a rule that would prohibit spills of oil and toxic liquids. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• The Interior Department proposes to reverse a Trump administration regulation that would cut lease payments for drilling on public lands. (The Hill)

COAL:
• With its carbon-capture plans for a New Mexico coal plant behind schedule, an energy company plans to continue running the plant without the technology for years beyond its scheduled closing date. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Environmental groups say that a Colorado coal power plant consistently violates federal sulfur dioxide emissions standards. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado regulators block a coal industry-backed group from intervening in Xcel Energy’s resource plan. (Energy & Policy Institute)

GRID:
• Hawaii regulators approve an emergency demand-response program to shore up grid reliability as a coal plant closes. (Utility Dive)
• Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signs a bill that will accelerate a $2 billion transmission project and require the state’s utilities to join a regional transmission organization by 2030. (Nevada Appeal)

TRANSITION:
• A western Colorado town looks to river-based recreation and tourism to help it transition its economy away from coal. (Aspen Journalism)
• The authors of a new report say that California could create over 1 million new jobs as it transitions to a clean-energy economy, offsetting losses in the fossil fuels sector. (Bay City News)

STORAGE: An energy storage developer has cleared a major hurdle in its bid to build a 600 megawatt battery installation on California’s Central Coast. (Pacific Coast Business Times)

LITHIUM: During a visit to Nevada, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the Biden administration wants to see lithium mined in a responsible way that respects the environment and Indigenous tribes. (Associated Press)

EFFICIENCY: Developers break ground on a net-zero high-rise apartment building in Seattle. (KNKX)

TRANSPORTATION:
• An electric fuel-cell powered ferry begins service on the San Francisco Bay this summer. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• A Salt Lake City streetcar is now powered entirely by renewable energy. (KSL)

NUCLEAR: Wyoming environmental groups have a mixed reaction to a proposal to build an advanced nuclear reactor in the state. (Cowboy State Daily)

SOLAR: A Hawaii entrepreneur plans to build a 600-acre photovoltaic installation in Oahu and sell individual units. (Star-Advertiser)

COMMENTARY:
• Two leaders of a Mormon environmental group urge Utah’s members of Congress to support federal methane emission regulations. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• A California oil company CEO and an equity advocate argue that climate goals and a robust economy can co-exist. (Capitol Weekly)

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.