POLITICS: Wyoming’s coal industry could gain a temporary boost Wyoming under a Biden presidency, but experts say a ban on oil and gas leasing on federal land would be particularly damaging for the state’s industry. (Casper Star-Tribune)

ALSO:
• Colorado politicians are now finding that addressing climate change is a winning issue compared to years past. (Denver Post)
• Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in Colorado and Montana are focusing their campaigns on the threat to the states’ public lands by the opposition. (Associated Press)

***SPONSORED LINK: The New England Energy Summit, Nov. 16, 23 and 30 will bring together industry leaders, end users and policymakers to address emerging issues and engage in impactful discussion. Featuring keynote speakers Ernest J. Moniz and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. Register at newenglandenergysummit.com .***

COAL:
• “We are not victims”: officials in Craig, Colorado start to confront a future without coal. Read more about Craig here and here. (Colorado Sun, Energy News Network archive)
• An updated report finds that cleaning up Western coal mines could create thousands of jobs for former miners in the near term. (Casper Star-Tribune)

UTILITIES:
• An independent California consumer watchdog agency says PG&E should be fined $165.7 million for mismanaging its planned power outages in 2019. (Los Angeles Times)
• New Colorado legislation could provide an exit strategy blueprint for rural electric cooperatives stuck in long-term fossil fuel contracts. (Daily Yonder)
• A study commissioned by two Colorado co-ops says a regional transmission organization will help the state meet its clean energy goals. (Mountain Town News)

CLIMATE: New Mexico’s climate change task force in a new report says the state has made progress in reducing greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change, but still has more work to do. (New Mexico Political Report)

HYDROGEN:
• Salt caverns in Utah could become the world’s largest energy storage facility, potentially storing enough renewable hydrogen to provide 1,000 MW of backup power. (CNBC)
• Southern California Gas is one of nine companies partnering in a project focused on the commercial-scale integrated production and use of renewable hydrogen. (Chemical Engineering)

STORAGE: Opposition is growing against a California bill aiming to adopt a new regulatory approach towards “long-duration energy storage systems” sponsored by an out-of-state utility seeking to revive a pumped-hydro project. (PV Magazine)

WIND: An exploration of California’s wind energy history finds that the state’s modern wind farms are far more efficient and considerate of avian hazards than those of past decades. (Gizmodo)

SOLAR: A Colorado car dealership’s new solar canopies have the added benefit of protecting vehicles from hail damage. (Denver Post)

BIOFUELS: Southern California Gas is now dispensing renewable natural gas  at its vehicle fueling stations produced in the state by capturing greenhouse gas-producing manure from dairy farms. (news release) 

COMMENTARY:
• A Harvard environmental and energy law expert in an interview says President Trump is failing to deliver on proposals that actively support mining and help revive demand for coal. (Wyoming Public Media)
• A Utah environmental advocate says the state must ensure that communities impacted by the transition to renewables are prepared to successfully diversify their economies. (Salt Lake Tribune)

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.).