PUBLIC LANDS: President Trump withdraws his contentious nomination of William Perry Pendley to head the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees much of the nation’s oil and gas development. (Washington Post)

CALIFORNIA:
• Up to 250,000 PG&E ratepayers were affected by rolling blackouts imposed by California’s grid operator on Friday to preserve system stability due to a “heat storm” that drove up energy use. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• California ratepayers are being asked to conserve energy by PG&E and the state’s grid operator to avoid additional blackouts. (KSEE, Los Angeles Times)
• The heat wave across the Western U.S. is challenging California’s transition from a grid that depends on natural gas for capacity to a system that eliminates carbon emissions by 2045. (Greentech Media)

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CLEAN ENERGY: A planned quarry in Nevada that would supply key materials for electric car batteries and wind turbines may not open due to the presence of a rare plant. (New Scientist)

WIND: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is honored as a wind energy “champion” as energy leaders across the state celebrate American Wind Week. (Albuquerque Journal, KRWG)

UTILITIES: A Colorado utility is taking steps to reduce the risk of its infrastructure starting or contributing to a wildfire. (Aspen Times)

OIL & GAS: Legal experts say the rationale behind the EPA’s decision to stop directly regulating oil and gas emissions could present problems in court. (E&E News, subscription)

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SOLAR:
• A new Arizona regulation is limiting rooftop solar installations in some Tucson neighborhoods. (Arizona Daily Star)
• A United Arab Emirates clean energy firm buys a 50% interest in five PV projects in California. (PV Tech)

COMMENTARY:
• A scientific advocacy organization says California’s rolling blackouts are historic because there simply is not enough electricity to go around. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• An Arizona columnist says the DOE should not loosen a regulation limiting the water flow on showerheads. (Arizona Republic)
• A Navajo clean air advocate says BLM acting head William Perry Pendley is unfit to manage Indigenous homelands. (Montrose Press)
• An Oregon editorial board says breaching the Snake River dams is still a bad idea. (La Ronde Observer)

Lisa Ellwood

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.).