COAL: The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge from Montana and Wyoming over Washington state’s denial of a coal export terminal permit, ending the case. (Oil City News)

GRID:
• Thousands lose power in Washington, Oregon and Idaho as unprecedented heat strains electricity grids. (KUOW, Oregonian, Idaho Statesman)
• Eastern Washington experiences rolling blackouts as the heat wave causes the grid to “react in a way that was unanticipated,” a utility official says. (Spokesman-Review)
• The Bureau of Land Management launches the permitting process for the proposed Greenlink West transmission project in Nevada. (Pahrump Valley Times)

OIL & GAS:
• An environmental group’s analysis finds California-produced oil to be among the most carbon-intensive in the nation. (KQED)
• California oil and gas drillers guzzle billions of gallons of water for hydraulic fracturing in areas hit hardest by the drought. (SF Gate)
• A government watchdog’s report says the Interior Department’s outdated oil and gas tracking system hampers monitoring and enforcement efforts of drilling on federal land. (E&E News, subscription)
• An oil company plugs and reclaims the last remaining active oil and gas wells in a Colorado city. (Denver Post)
• Nearly 200 abandoned oil and gas wells sit within 30 miles of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

UTILITIES: A small California city’s community energy program surges ahead of the state’s renewable power goals in providing power to residents. (Monterey County Weekly)

SOLAR: A U.S. appeals court says solar advocates can challenge a New Mexico city’s rooftop solar standby fees in federal court. (Reuters) 

NUCLEAR: A California startup receives federal funding to develop fuel for the micro-reactor it is developing. (World Nuclear News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Lyft’s and Uber’s foundational business model may hurt efforts by the companies and California regulators to electrify their fleets. (VICE)
• Idaho’s slow rollout of EV charging infrastructure is hindering adoption of the vehicles in the state, advocates say. (Idaho Capital Sun)

TRANSPORTATION: A Colorado city receives federal funding to bolster its low-emission bus fleet. (Fort Collins Coloradoan)

CLEAN ENERGY: Northwest tribes push for a bigger role in clean energy policy making. (Crosscut)

HYDROPOWER: Sens. Maria Cantwell and Lisa Murkowski introduce a bill incentivizing upgrades to dams and the removal of obsolete hydroelectric infrastructure. (E&E News, subscription)

COMMENTARY:
• A clean energy think tank official urges deployment of batteries and demand response to avoid power outages during heat waves. (Rocky Mountain Institute)
• A Utah columnist says U.S. Rep. John Curtis’ Conservative Climate Caucus allows Republicans to acknowledge that climate change is a problem. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• A California organizer says helping low-income households electrify their homes and vehicles will slash energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (CalMatters)

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Jonathan P. Thompson

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.