NATURAL GAS: As studies show methane emissions are soaring globally, a new report questions Colorado’s push to advance renewable natural gas. (Reuters, Denver Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Five Western states join a multi-state compact pledging 100% of trucks sold by 2050 will be zero-emission vehicles. (Utility Dive)

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UTILITIES:
• Colorado regulators are advised to approve United Power’s proposed exit fee methodology that would set the cost for cooperatives to leave Tri-State Generation and Transmission. (Utility Dive)
• New Mexico’s largest city and county want regulators to throw out a utility’s bid to recover fixed service costs regardless of how much electricity is used by ratepayers. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Wyoming regulators are undertaking an “unusual” week-long investigation into a western utility’s 20-year Integrated Resource Plan released in October 2019. (Wyoming Public Media)

CALIFORNIA:
• A group of more than 50 businesses and individuals file a new lawsuit against PG&E for 2019’s Kincade Fire. (Press Democrat)
• The Paradise Recreation and Park District announces receipt of a $38,558,560 payment to settle the district’s Camp Fire claims against PG&E. (Action News Now)

COAL:
• A new report explores the water supply risks facing Western coal plants, and the conflicts and legal disputes that have already arisen between communities and the utilities that operate them. (Energy and Policy Institute)
• Montana regulators now want to know precisely how big a share NorthWestern Energy intends to purchase in the Colstrip power plant. (Montana Public Radio)

OIL & GAS: Gasoline usage in California, the biggest fuel market in the U.S., is expected to drop as Gov. Gavin Newsom imposes a new round of business closures to combat a rise in coronavirus cases. (Bloomberg)

HYDROPOWER: Washington tribes and cities say the removal of a Bellingham-area dam will prove to be ecologically and culturally important. (Revelator)

STORAGE: The largest energy storage project in the U.S., activated in California last month, will soon be eclipsed by much larger systems. (Greentech Media)

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PUBLIC LANDS: Environmentalists question the fairness of ongoing BLM oil and gas lease sales of southeast New Mexico federal land during the coronavirus crisis. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

COMMENTARY: A new report highlights the top policy solutions California energy experts and government officials believe are necessary to address barriers to clean, resilient grid deployment in the state. (Colorado Boulevard)

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.).