TRANSPORTATION: Washington state lawmakers pass a $17 billion, 16-year transportation bill that uses carbon credit program revenue to fund projects such as hybrid-electric ferries and electric vehicle charging infrastructure while significantly downsizing an EV rebate proposal. (Associated Press, Seattle Times) 

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators reject a company’s plan to drill 26 oil and gas wells within the state’s 2,000-foot minimum setback from homes and schools. (Colorado Sun)
• An oil and gas company says it will install solar systems with battery backup at its Permian Basin facilities to reduce emissions. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Remote Alaska villages reliant on diesel generators for electricity and planes or barges for supplies are hit hard by soaring oil prices. (KTUU)
• Wyoming analysts expect Biden’s ban on Russian oil imports to boost the state’s oil and gas industry and state severance tax revenues, but hurt the state’s high-mileage-driving motorists. (Wyoming Public Radio)

SOLAR: Researchers find private investment in California solar facilities encouraged development of large-scale generating plants linked to customers by long-distance transmission lines that have proven vulnerable to extreme weather. (news release)

ELECTRIFICATION: The Sierra Club calls on California regulators to stop San Diego Gas and Electric from giving ratepayer-funded rebates for natural gas water heaters, saying the incentives should only be used for electric appliances. (CBS8)

WIND: Hawaii’s Senate passes a bill compelling the House to set a minimum distance offshore wind turbines can be from land. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

NUCLEAR:
• Wyoming lawmakers pass a bill repealing some nuclear waste storage regulations to expedite development of a Bill Gates-backed nuclear reactor. (Wyoming Public Radio)
• The U.S. Department of Energy chooses California startup Oklo to develop methods to convert nuclear waste to advanced reactor fuel. (news release)  

CLIMATE: Arizona advocates call on Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to pass clean energy and climate provisions in the stalled Build Back Better bill. (12News)

HYDROGEN: A California startup plans to establish a hydrogen aviation fuel capsule manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

COAL:
• Wyoming lawmakers give final approval to a tax break for coal companies that would save the industry $10 million annually while costing the state. (Wyoming Public Radio)
• A western Colorado abandoned coal mine methane emission mitigation project stands to receive $1.2 million from the federal appropriations bill making its way through Congress. (Aspen Times)
• The U.S. Interior Department allocates $2.8 million to New Mexico for cleaning up abandoned coal mines. (news release)

COMMENTARY: A Navajo Nation community organizer urges regulators to adopt oil and gas emissions rules that end routine methane flaring and require regular leak detection and repair efforts. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

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.