COAL:
• A Georgia utility’s plan to cut the nation’s largest coal plant’s capacity in half will reduce demand at Wyoming’s Powder River Basin mines, from which the plant gets most of its coal. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Colorado’s utility regulators aren’t debating whether the Comanche 3 coal power plant will close but rather when it will, with environmentalists pushing for retirement as soon as 2027. (Colorado Sun) 

UTILITIES:
• Hawaiian Electric plans to add 50,000 rooftop solar systems to meet its pledge to reduce carbon emissions 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• Avangrid and Public Service Company of New Mexico executives double down on efforts to sway regulators to support the utilities’ proposed merger. (Albuquerque Journal)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators significantly reduce an oil and gas operator’s fine for a litany of violations after the company agrees to a comprehensive cleanup plan. (Colorado Public Radio)
• A California refinery is partially converted to produce 15,000 barrels of diesel per day from used cooking oils, grease and rendered fats. (Bakersfield Californian)

CLEAN ENERGY: California researchers find a combination of wind and solar power could supply about 80% of industrialized nations’ electricity demand even without additional storage. (news release)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signs an order to electrify the state’s public fleet of vehicles by 2040. (KOIN)
• Los Angeles’ transit agency plans to install a 1.5 MW solar plus storage microgrid paired with 104 charging stations to power its growing fleet of electric buses. (Electrive)
• Oregon transportation officials expect to receive $1.2 billion from the federal infrastructure bill for mass transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities; electric vehicle charging stations; and transportation decarbonization efforts. (Willamette Week)

LITHIUM:
• Indigenous and environmental advocate resistance to the Thacker Pass lithium project proposed for Nevada shows that clean energy could face the same challenges as fossil fuel development. (Inside Climate News)  
• A developer doubles the size of its proposed lithium brines project in New Mexico by staking 96 new mining claims on public lands. (news release)

SOLAR: A New Mexico county advances plans to build a solar installation on agricultural land outside of Albuquerque. (Albuquerque Journal) 

CLIMATE: California officials and policy experts say the state must drastically speed up emissions reduction efforts to meet climate change-fighting goals. (San Francisco Chronicle)

HYDROGEN: Wyoming energy officials say the state’s extensive web of existing natural gas infrastructure positions it to become a hydrogen production hub. (Casper Star-Tribune) 

COMMENTARY: A California solar advocate says the state should strengthen net metering policies by making it cheaper for lower-income homeowners and renters to benefit directly from rooftop solar. (Utility Dive)

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.