CLIMATE: New Mexico tribal leaders say Indigenous knowledge of ecosystems can play a major role in fighting and adapting to climate change. (Albuquerque Journal)

UTILITIES:
• Arizona Public Service Co. officials threaten to sue regulators if they do not approve the utility’s requested $169 million rate hike. (Arizona Republic, subscription)
• California regulators will hold a virtual public workshop Nov. 3 to discuss replacement scenarios for the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility, home to the nation’s largest ever methane leak. (news release)    
• A California coalition of community choice aggregators seeks proposals for up to 200 MW of clean firm power resources. (news release) 

HYDROPOWER: Heavy rains raise water levels in California’s drought-depleted Lake Oroville enough to enable the dam to produce hydropower again. (KCRA) 

WIND:
• A northern California county upholds a June planning commission decision to reject a use permit for a utility-scale wind facility because of heightened fire risk and aesthetic impacts. (Redding Record Searchlight)
• The Biden administration’s push to develop wind power in the deep waters off the West Coast could boost U.S. companies over global rivals in the nascent floating turbine sector.  (Canary Media)

GRID:
• Developers energize the first leg of a high-voltage transmission line carrying power from New Mexico wind facilities to Western markets. (Associated Press)
• Electricity is restored to a remote Alaska community after its sole power source, a diesel-fueled powerhouse, went offline for nearly a week. (Alaska Public Media)

EQUITY: Both climate change and efforts to transition away from fossil fuels disproportionately affect low-income communities and people of color, panelists at a New Mexico climate summit say. (NM Political Report)

SOLAR:
• A utility-scale solar facility near Aspen, Colorado, goes online after opposition due to aesthetic concerns threatened to derail the project. (Aspen Times)
• Solar panels on rooftops and covered carports at a bank’s Arizona headquarters offset 60% of the campus’ electricity demand. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A solar and wind energy component manufacturer plans to open a production facility employing 315 people in southeastern New Mexico. (news release)  
• Five universities in Western states make the U.S. EPA’s list of top ten schools for green power use. (news release) 

TRANSPORTATION:
• San Diego’s regional transportation agency considers a per-mile road fee for motorists and free public transit for all. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• A California aviation company partners with Alaska Airlines to integrate a hydrogen-electric powertrain into a regional jet. (Aerospace Testing International)
• Nevada becomes a “Clean Cars” state after lawmakers approve a measure calling for more electric vehicle consumer choice and heightened emissions standards. (Las Vegas Sun)

OIL & GAS:
• U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, both California Democrats, urge the Biden administration to withdraw its plans to streamline oil and gas permitting in Santa Barbara County and instead use project-specific plans. (news release)
• New Mexico oil and gas industry officials attack Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s call to codify zero-emissions goals, saying it would kill jobs and increase energy prices. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

COAL: A Western conservation group accuses a U.S. Department of Energy coal advisory group of improperly operating in secret and asks a Montana judge to open its records relating to coal development on federal lands. (Reuters)

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.