CRYPTOCURRENCY: A Montana coal plant’s greenhouse gas emissions increase dramatically after a cryptocurrency mining firm sets up shop nearby to purchase all of the plant’s power. (Guardian)

COAL:
• PacifiCorp agrees to convert two units of its Jim Bridger coal plant to natural gas and potentially retrofit two others with carbon capture technology in a bid to avoid a partial shutdown ordered by federal regulators. (WyoFile)
• Public Service Company of New Mexico proposes running its San Juan Generating Station through September, three months beyond its planned retirement date, to avoid summer power outages. (NM Political Report)
• Xcel Energy officials say electrical problems triggered the shutdown of Colorado’s Comanche coal power plant that has so far lasted two weeks. (Colorado Public Radio)   
• Wyoming’s coal mining industry adds 200 employees, increases production by 9% and fetches record high prices for coal, but analysts say the resurgence is short-lived. (WyoFile)

OIL & GAS:
• A California lawmakers’ bill that would create a fund to support and retrain energy transition-affected oil industry workers exposes a rift between two groups of labor unions. (CalMatters)
• Federal wildlife officials consider allowing oil and gas companies to accidentally harm some imperiled lesser prairie chickens if they follow specific conservation measures. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Environmental advocates say a California rule requiring a 3,200-foot buffer between new oil and gas wells and homes, schools and businesses could allow operators to restart idle wells within the setback zone. (Capital & Main)
• The California oil industry out-fundraises environmental groups 10-1 in its campaign to end new Ventura County oil and gas drilling restrictions that are up for a vote in June. (VC Star)

POLLUTION: Colorado environmentalists urge the U.S. EPA to reject a Denver-area oil refinery’s air quality permit approved by state regulators. (Colorado Sun)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A Nevada electric vehicle battery recycling company launches a used battery collection program in California with Ford and Volvo. (Los Angeles Times)  
• An Arizona electric vehicle manufacturer asks the state to help train 1,000 new workers it plans to hire this year. (Arizona Republic)

HYDROGEN: Southern California Gas Co. proposes building the nation’s largest green hydrogen infrastructure system to move the fuel from wind and solar facilities to the Los Angeles Basin. (S&P Global)

SOLAR: Nevada’s U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen introduces a bill that would repeal federal tariffs on solar panel imports and create a program encouraging domestic manufacturing. (Axios) 

PUBLIC LANDS: A Nevada House member introduces legislation that would designate a national monument on 450,000 acres of public land targeted for wind and solar development. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

NUCLEAR: Western utilities hoping to build a small modular nuclear reactor facility in Idaho dispute a think tank’s study suggesting the reactors are too expensive and risky. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: An Alaska Indigenous tribal leader urges the Biden administration to cancel a planned oil and gas lease sale in the Cook Inlet because it would “spell the end of our subsistence lifestyle.” (Washington Post)  

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.