CLEAN ENERGY: New Mexico is already seeing signs of progress in implementing its landmark 2019 climate law, but also faces numerous obstacles. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS:
• Colorado lawmakers significantly pare back a bill to remove a state tax exemption for energy companies in order to gain support from Gov. Jared Polis and business interests. (Colorado Sun)
• A University of Wyoming economist says few experts believe the state’s already declining energy sector will return to pre-coronavirus crisis production rates any time soon. (Cowboy State Daily)

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PUBLIC LANDS: The U.S. Forest Service issues an order to expedite oil development and other activities on public lands. (The Hill)

CALIFORNIA:
• PG&E agrees to give more stock to its wildfire victims as part of its $13.5 billion settlement. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Silicon Valley tech companies are preparing for the likelihood of planned power outages that will adversely impact home offices set up during the coronavirus pandemic. (Bloomberg)

WIND: A Wyoming county’s planning and zoning commission could end up stopping all wind energy development in the county if it adopts regulations proposed by a Laramie law firm. (Laramie Boomerang)

COAL:
• A University of Wyoming economist says the rapid drop in demand for coal power “is an earth-shaking moment in the energy sector.” (Wired)
• The BLM approves a lease for expansion of a Colorado coal mine. (Durango Herald)
• Wyoming’s utility regulators say more details of NorthWestern Energy’s plans to buy an additional 12.5% of Colstrip Unit 4 could still be had through discovery. (Billings Gazette)

EQUITY: Advocates say the Trump administration’s weakening of environmental reviews is upending policies that were intended to protect people of color from pollution impacts. (Washington Post)

OIL & GAS:
• A media investigation finds that former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper accepted significant donations from the oil and gas industry to fund initiatives and positions in his office. (Colorado Sun)
• Calling the practice “a gratuitous display of oversupply,” a new report estimates $750 million worth of natural gas was flared in the Permian Basin in 2018. (Houston Chronicle)
• Permian Basin oil and gas producers’ oil-field operations and rig counts continue to decrease due to the coronavirus crisis. (Houston Chronicle)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The City of Orem, Utah installs four new electric vehicle charging stations thanks to financing from the Volkswagen Emissions fund. (Daily Herald)

COMMENTARY: The CEO of Montana’s Renewable Energy Association explains why net metering and rooftop solar in the state should be supported. (Montana Standard)

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.).