OIL & GAS: Alaska offers nearly 8 million acres of state land and waters on the Arctic North Slope for oil and gas leasing, which could significantly expand the fossil fuel industry’s footprint. (Bloomberg Law)

ALSO:
• A peer-reviewed study finds increases in natural gas production correlate with corresponding decreases in average birth weight, a phenomenon that disproportionately affects women of color. (Environmental Health News)
• New Mexico oil and gas industry officials vow to defend fossil fuels against what they call the environmental agenda of the federal and state governments. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Wyoming environmental groups urge the U.S. EPA to reject an oil and gas company’s request to inject millions of barrels of drilling wastewater into deep wells on federal lands, saying it could contaminate freshwater supplies. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID: A grid development company proposes building a transmission line in Wyoming that would provide a 3,000 MW link between the Eastern and Western Interconnections. (Cowboy State Daily)

SOLAR:
• Two 400 MW solar installations proposed for central Oregon are expected to bring up to 900 construction workers each — and an economic boost — to the rural area over the next three years. (Central Oregon Daily)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management begins analyzing a 400 MW solar installation proposed for southern Nevada that has prompted concerns of potential environmental impacts. (E&E News, subscription)
• Oregon’s energy department awards a university $1 million to expand solar power production on campus. (KOBI)

HYDROGEN: California environmental groups urge regulators to reject utilities’ plan to blend hydrogen with natural gas in distribution systems, saying it is dangerous and would not play a meaningful role in decarbonizing buildings. (Utility Dive)

LITHIUM: Northwest researchers find pairing geothermal generation with lithium extraction would lower power-production costs and provide a less-damaging way to produce the critical mineral. (news release)

CLIMATE:
• Colorado environmental groups urge regulators to strengthen greenhouse gas emissions reduction rules, saying current policies are failing to drive down emissions at the pace required by state law. (Colorado Newsline)
• Federal scientists predict a third consecutive year of drought for much of the West this winter, further depleting hydropower capacity and increasing fire danger. (Missoulian)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electrify America installs a 1.5 MW battery energy storage system at its remote electric vehicle charging station between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, allowing the facility to keep operating during outages. (E&E News)
• A company plans to construct a charging network for electric long-haul trucks on Interstate 10 between a southern California port and El Paso, Texas. (Marketwatch)

STORAGE: Some residents of a California town urge regulators to reject a proposal to convert a shuttered power plant into a grid-scale battery facility, saying fires at a similar installation nearby show the technology is unsafe. (New Times)

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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.