COAL: A review of records of the Trump administration’s push to save an Arizona coal plant raises questions over whether those efforts ever had any realistic chance to save the facility. (New York Times)

ALSO:
• U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes releases a report which concludes that retrofitting the San Juan Generating Station with carbon capture technology would result in significantly more jobs for northwestern New Mexico. (Associated Press)
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon says the state’s lawsuit against the state of Washington over a blocked coal export terminal may still have a chance to be heard thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Casper Star-Tribune)

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CLIMATE: Colorado’s clean energy push is falling short due to the slow pace and scope of its climate policymaking over the past two years, advocates say. (Colorado Newsline)

CALIFORNIA:
• California officials are hopeful zinc energy-storage technologies can help the state achieve its clean energy goals. (Forbes)
• The leaders of a Northern California county are under pressure to use their P&E settlement funds on an aggressive and comprehensive approach to wildfire safety. (Sonoma Press Democrat)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt says the federal resource management plan focused on oil and gas development in New Mexico’s Greater Chaco region will move forward. (Farmington Daily Times)
• Montana Gov. Steve Bullock asks a court to block three land use plans undertaken during William Perry Pendley’s tenure leading the Bureau of Land Management that would open most federally-owned lands in the state to energy development. (Associated Press)

OIL & GAS: Opinions differ on whether Wyoming regulators have taken sufficient steps to ensure the public is not burdened with the expense of cleaning up abandoned oil wells in the future. (Casper Star-Tribune)

UTILITIES: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is silent on the reasons the chairman of the state’s utility regulator is not being reappointed. (Mountain Town News)

SOLAR: Opponents of Rocky Mountain Power’s proposal to decrease the compensation rate to rooftop solar customers for the excess energy they export to the grid say it will be the end of Utah’s booming renewable energy industry. (Deseret News)

COMMENTARY:
• An advocate for California’s low income communities of color in an interview says work in climate, clean energy, and the environment requires empathy for other people. (EcoWatch)
• A litigator and policy advocate says California Gov. Gavin Newsom is not actually doing much to push for fossil fuel site closures to happen. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• The president of a renewable fuel trade association explains why California does not need to wait 15 years to pursue its decarbonization goals more aggressively. (The Hill)
• A California professor says smart choices and economic analysis are needed if the state is to achieve its fossil-free transportation goals. (Energy Institute at Haas)
• A new California energy efficiency law prioritizes schools in underserved communities and those near freeways or industrial facilities. (Natural Resources Defense Council)

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.).