HYDROPOWER: New modeling projects a 34% chance that drought-diminished Lake Powell will drop below levels necessary to generate hydropower by 2023. (CNN)

ALSO: Federal officials expect 2021 hydropower generation to decline by 49% in California and 12% in the Northwest compared to last year due to drought-depleted reservoirs. (Energy Information Administration)

STORAGE:
• San Diego seeks a partner to develop and operate a 500 MW long-duration pumped hydro energy storage project proposed for San Vicente Reservoir. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• A northern California city announces Tesla has broken ground on a Megapack stationary storage battery manufacturing facility in the city. (Elektrek)

SOLAR:
• Arizona utility Salt River Project announces plans to partner with a developer to build a 400 MW solar plus storage installation on private land north of Flagstaff. (Associated Press)
• Residents of a southern California town ask a court to block construction of a utility-scale solar facility proposed nearby. (CBS8)
• A judge orders the federal government to reconsider a Trump-era decision not to protect the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act, which could affect California solar development. (HuffPost)

UTILITIES: Arizona regulators plan to investigate Southwest Gas Corp. in connection with several Phoenix-area gas leaks and an explosion that injured four people. (Arizona Republic)

GRID: A fire at a natural gas power plant in Tucson leaves 5,000 households without electricity. (Arizona Daily Star)  

ELECTRIFICATION: Encinitas, California’s city council prohibits natural gas hookups in new residential and commercial construction, with exceptions only for emergency buildings and eateries that can demonstrate the need for cooking with flame. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

TRANSPORTATION: After receiving a $50 million investment from Ford Motor Co., Nevada electric vehicle battery recycler Redwood Materials plans to vastly expand its Carson City facilities. (Carson Now)

OIL & GAS:
• Two huge Alaska oil and gas projects once touted as harbingers of a North Slope drilling renaissance are faltering due to funding shortfalls and legal roadblocks. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Colorado’s Democratic congressional delegation urges the Environmental Protection Agency to tighten methane emission rules for oil and gas facilities. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Alaska’s Republican senators seek congressional allies to help block Democrats’ attempts to prohibit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (E&E News) 

COMMENTARY:
• A Nevada advocate urges the EPA to set rigorous emissions standards on heavy duty vehicles to reduce health- and climate-harming pollution and expedite the deployment of zero-emission trucks. (Nevada Independent)
• An Alaska engineer says the development of small-scale, run-of-river hydropower projects will diversify the state’s energy supply and provide energy security. (Anchorage Daily News)

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.