CLIMATE: The president of the union representing thousands of employees of Southern California Gas Co. prevented San Luis Obispo, California officials from passing an ambitious climate change policy by weaponizing the coronavirus pandemic. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO:
• Oil companies argued before an appeals court yesterday that a climate lawsuit led by Colorado communities should be moved to federal court. (Drilled News)
• Utah Republican U.S. Representative John Curtis says there are good solutions to combat climate change that can be bipartisan. (Deseret News)
• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says fighting climate change helped prepare his state for the coronavirus pandemic. (Bloomberg)

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RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• Renewable energy prices in California plummeted to a record low in 2019 according to an annual report by state regulators. (PV Magazine)
• An advisor for California’s grid operator says using excess renewable energy to produce methane or hydrogen could be an option to reach state climate goals. (Utility Dive)

COAL: Utility plans to retire coal plants are still on course despite the coronavirus pandemic. (S&P Global)

CALIFORNIA: PG&E will likely have to rely on planned public safety power shutoffs even more this year, having fallen behind on wildfire mitigation work. (Greentech Media)

OIL & GAS: A new report indicates New Mexico’s revenue outlook will be grim for the foreseeable future due to plummeting oil prices and the economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus crisis. (Albuquerque Journal)

SOLAR: Navajo Power partners with solar developer sPower on a co-development deal to pursue a 200 MW solar bid with an Arizona utility. (Greentech Media)

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NUCLEAR: Federal regulators reportedly believe a proposed nuclear waste disposal site in southern New Mexico could be the U.S.’ best option for disposing of surplus plutonium. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

COMMENTARY:
• A Navajo-led environmental justice organization sees a recent coal plant closure as an opportunity to invest in clean energy on a meaningful scale and hear from voices regularly excluded from policy-making processes. (Grist)
• California journalists discuss the process of PG&E wildfire victims’ vote on the utility’s $13.5 billion settlement deal. (KQED)

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.).