NATURAL GAS: Salt River Project files two lawsuits seeking to overturn Arizona regulators’ rejection of the utility’s proposal to expand a natural gas power plant in a historically Black community. (ABC15)

ALSO: An Oregon utility-customer advocate criticizes regulators’ report analyzing how state climate goals would affect natural gas utilities, saying it ignores public comment and recommends expanding rather than reducing natural gas infrastructure. (Oregon Capital Chronicle) 

OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico economists urge lawmakers to invest record-high oil and gas tax revenues toward diversifying the economy and preparing for the industry’s inevitable downturn. (Capital & Main)
• A Federal Reserve Bank survey finds energy activity “accelerated” in the region that includes Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming during 2022’s second quarter. (Cheyenne Post)
• Federal labor statistics show oil- and gas-producing states experienced the nation’s largest gross domestic product declines during the first half of the year. (Stateline)      

SOLAR: The author of a study finding a 700-acre solar installation in Wyoming forced pronghorn antelope to alter their migration patterns urges developers to site and design facilities to accommodate wildlife. (E&E News) 

GRID: California’s grid operator urges federal regulators to reject a bid by a power retailer to block new expedited emergency interconnection rules. (Utility Dive)

BIOFUELS: California researchers develop an energy-dense and low carbon-intensity biofuel from bacteria fed with plant matter. (news release)

COAL:
• Montana environmentalists urge regulators to block work at the Signal Peak Coal Mine until it can be investigated for compliance with federal laws. (Billings Gazette)
• Montana regulators and a Canadian company continue to spar over rules targeting cross-border selenium pollution from the company’s coal mine. (Missoulian)

TRANSPORTATION: California cities pass resolutions to decarbonize the nation’s largest port complex, but experts say existing technology must be significantly refined and scaled up to reach the goal. (Grist)

CARBON CAPTURE: University of Wyoming researchers find retrofitting coal plants with carbon capture would increase the cost of their power 237%, but federal subsidies would offset part of the cost. (news release)

COMMENTARY:
• A Utah lawmaker urges his colleagues to set a goal to cut the state’s power sector carbon emissions in half by 2030 to make up for the Supreme Court stifling the U.S. EPA’s regulatory powers. (Deseret News)
• The Biden administration’s potential approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow drilling project in Alaska would “mock its campaign commitments to ease off on new oil leases,” a climate activist and author write. (Los Angeles Times)

More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West

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.