CLEAN ENERGY: A new report indicates nearly 600,000 clean energy jobs were lost in March and April, with 105,000 of those coming from California alone. (Los Angeles Times)

SOLAR: A proposed 240-megawatt commercial solar farm near Casper, Wyoming wins initial approval; the project would triple the state’s installed solar capacity if built. (Casper Star-Tribune) 

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STORAGE:
• Utilities are increasingly finding that massive storage projects like those approved for California and Nevada are useful in keeping the lights on and tackling climate change and air pollution. (News York Times)
• Ventura County, California officials used Zoom to sign off on a solar provider’s proposal for a 100-megawatt/400-megawatt-hour battery plant. (Greentech Media)

COAL: A coalition of states, environmental groups, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe want to revive a moratorium on coal sales from federal lands. (Associated Press)

OIL & GAS:
• Dozens of oil tankers stranded off the coast of Southern California are still generating daily carbon emissions the equivalent of driving roughly 16,000 passenger cars. (Grist)
• California regulators are accepting public comments until June 10 on its plan to standardize buffer zones between oil facilities and schools and homes. (Bakersfield Californian)

FOSSIL FUELS: A legislative audit finds a Utah fund intended to ease impacts of industrial activity on rural communities is being spent on projects that could make them worse. (Deseret News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom avoids answering questions about Elon Musk defying a county’s shelter-in-place order to resume operations at his Tesla plant. (SFist)
• Meanwhile, Alameda County officials announced on Twitter that the plant will be able to start making vehicles as of this coming Monday as long as Tesla adheres to the worker safety precautions it agreed to. (msnNOW)
• An exploration of Elon Musk’s fight with California says the state’s green energy policies are the reason Tesla is now a successful, profitable, publicly-traded carmaker. (Telegraph)

HYDROPOWER: A group of five regional entities has submitted a plan to FERC to take over a northern California hydropower project with the intent of removing a 98-year-old dam. (Lost Coast Outpost) 

OVERSIGHT: California utilities face increased scrutiny this fall by state regulators’ newly-formed wildfire oversight team. (Bay Area News Group)

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UTILITIES:
• A May hearing before Colorado regulators could help clarify co-ops’ options for pursuing more renewable energy.  (Utility Dive)
• The City of Boulder, Colorado and Xcel Energy announce the start of discussions about new pathways to reach the city’s energy future goals, including alternatives to a municipally managed, community-owned electric utility. (Denver Post)

GEOTHERMAL: California’s Energy Commission announces research and development grants totaling $10 million to three geothermal-related projects. (Think Geoenergy)

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.).