CALIFORNIA: PG&E equipment is under investigation as the possible cause of the deadly Zogg fire that killed four people last month. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO: A judge rules PG&E can continue cutting more than 260 trees in a California city as part of a fire mitigation program. (Union of Grass Valley)

COAL:
• Critics question the feasibility and economics of a proposal to turn New Mexico’s coal-fired San Juan Generating Station into the world’s largest carbon capture facility. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Wyoming regulators say Pacificorp’s plan to transition from coal to renewables lacks proper analysis, transparency and modeling, and fails to consider other alternatives. (WyoFile)

NUCLEAR: A New Mexico county sees its participation in a 720 MW Utah small modular nuclear reactor project as the next best thing to renewables. (New Mexico Political Report)

OIL & GAS:
• An environmental policy analyst says New Mexico must adopt stricter rules for oil and gas wastewater management as well as spills and the failure to report them. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• The Permian Basin’s rig count continues to increase, up one to 130 as of Friday. (Houston Chronicle)

SOLAR: A New Mexico company that makes solar tracker equipment is set to become the first and largest company of its kind to go public. (PV Magazine)

OVERSIGHT:
• Arizona utility regulators elected next month will help decide how state rules requiring carbon-free generation by 2050 are applied. (Arizona Daily Star)
• New Mexico voters are divided over whether to keep electing state utility regulators or allow the governor to appoint them. (Albuquerque Journal)

OFFSHORE WIND: The U.S. Navy says it will work with a central California group to identify a region for an offshore wind project. (San Luis Obispo Tribune)

POLITICS:
• Montana Senator Steve Daines clashes with his rival in next month’s elections, Gov. Steve Bullock, accusing him of endangering the future of the state’s energy industry. (E&E News Daily, subscription)
• Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner spars with former Gov. John Hickenlooper over public lands policies and William Perry Pendley’s future at the Bureau of Land Management. (E&E News Daily, subscription)

COMMENTARY:
• A Lawrence Berkeley National Lab expert says energy efficiency could reduce inequities, increase reliability and lower costs. (GreenBiz)
• A New Mexico environmentalist says members of the state’s utilities regulator should be appointed by the governor, while a clean energy advocate says its important to keep it an elected body accountable to the people. (Albuquerque Journal)

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.).