WIND: Resistance to the proposed Lava Ridge wind facility in southern Idaho is part of a new wave of not-in-my-backyard opposition to utility-scale renewable development that threatens to stall climate goals, industry officials say. (Washington Post)

ALSO: Avangrid installs nearly 1,400 bird flight diverters at its Manzana wind facility in southern California. (news release)

OIL & GAS:
• A peer-reviewed study finds nesting migratory bird survival decreased significantly near oil and gas facilities in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay. (Common Dreams)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management will hold at least two oil and gas lease sales in Montana and North Dakota in September, the first sales since before the Biden administration paused leasing in 2021. (Billings Gazette)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Los Angeles school district plans to convert its 180-bus fleet to battery electric power and build out its charging infrastructure by 2026. (Spectrum News)
• A Colorado company markets teardrop camping trailers with integrated battery systems that can charge electric vehicles or provide home backup power during an outage. (news release)
• A California city council votes to require all new gas stations to include at least one alternative fueling station for zero-emissions cars. (KABC)

UTILITIES: NV Energy withdraws a proposal to merge its northern and southern Nevada subsidiaries following pushback from regulators and consumer advocates. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

COAL: A Colorado judge orders state regulators to draft an air quality permit for a coal mine in the western part of the state in a timely manner. (news release)

SOLAR:
• Colorado lawmakers establish a program to incentivize local governments to  adopt solar permitting and inspection software. (Solar Power World)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to hold a public forum on three proposed solar projects in western Arizona with a combined capacity of 1,025 MW. (news release)
• New Mexico regulators select projects to participate in the state’s new community solar program. (NM Political Report)

CLEAN ENERGY: Idaho Power’s plans to build up its wind and solar capacity in coming decades are challenged by lack of transmission and storage and opposition to utility-scale renewable energy development. (Idaho Statesman)

HYDROPOWER:
• Seattle City Light proposes to address tribal nations’ concerns about the utility’s hydropower dams’ impacts by trucking fish around the structures. (Seattle Times)
• Western grid officials predict drought-parched soils soaking up this winter’s abundant snowpack will diminish summer’s hydropower production. (RTO Insider, subscription)

HYDROGEN: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham predicts her state will emerge as a national leader in hydrogen fuel production with the help of federal funding. (Albuquerque Journal)

TRANSPORTATION: Firms that haul freight across the San Diego-Tijuana border say they are not prepared for California’s plan to phase out diesel trucks because Mexico lacks zero-emission vehicles and charging infrastructure. (Voice of San Diego)

TRANSITION: A Colorado town hopes dinosaur- and fossil-related tourism can help fill the economic void left by a coal power plant’s scheduled retirement. (High Country News)

COMMENTARY: A California environmental attorney chides SoCalGas for using ratepayers’ money to fund the successful bid to overturn Berkeley’s natural gas hookup ban. (CalMatters)

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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.