CALIFORNIA: PG&E is reportedly set to plead guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with 2018’s deadly Camp Fire during a court hearing today. (Associated Press) 

ALSO: California lawmakers pass a bill allowing the state to create a nonprofit public-benefit corporation to acquire PG&E if it fails to meet certain bankruptcy deadlines or perform required safety work. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)

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COAL: The impending closure of a Portland General Electric-owned coal-fired plant will mark the end of coal power in Oregon. (Bend Bulletin)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A recent decision by California regulators to give the state’s major utilities a more central role in procurement raises concerns that community-level clean energy projects will be harder to develop. (Greentech Media)
• A new analysis of unemployment data finds California and Washington among the states hardest hit by clean energy job losses in May. (ACORE)

SOLAR: A nationwide nonprofit promoting community solar launches a solar power cooperative in Tucson, Arizona. (Arizona Daily Star)

OIL & GAS:
• Abandoned oil and gas wells in California and on the Navajo Nation are among the millions that pose health and climate threats due to leaking methane. (Reuters)
• The BLM postpones its Wyoming oil and gas lease sale scheduled for June 22, adding to the uncertainty already faced by companies working in the state. (Casper Star-Tribune)

PIPELINES: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants the Supreme Court to block a court order that stopped the use of a nationwide permitting program to greenlight oil and gas pipelines. (E&E News, subscription)

PUBLIC LANDS: A coal mining company is under fire for bulldozing roughly a mile of new road on public land in Colorado despite a federal court banning the company from building new roads or methane-venting drill sites in the protected forest. (Colorado Sun)

MICROGRIDS: Advocacy organizations urge California Gov. Gavin Newsom to pursue “a just transition to clean energy” by supporting community microgrids. (Microgrid Knowledge)

BIOENERGY: California landfill operators differ in opinion on the potential impact of the state’s organics diversion law on gas-to-energy projects. (Waste360)

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UTILITIES: A Colorado rancher reflects on his 30 years on the La Plata Electric Association board of directors and the cooperative’s decision to leave the Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association. (Durango Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• Two Alaska oil tax policy advocates say a ballot measure aiming to raise the state’s oil production taxes is bad for business and comes at the worst possible time. (Anchorage Daily News)
• A former Alaska lawmaker explains why “fair is fair” when it comes to oil and gas producers paying oil taxes in the state. (Anchorage Daily News)

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.).