OIL & GAS: The Biden administration cancels a high-profile oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, saying it was due to lack of industry interest. (CBS News)

ALSO
• A ConocoPhillips investigation finds that a drilling operation put too much pressure on a well, causing it to spring a 7-million-cubic-feet methane leak at one of its Alaska facilities in March. (Anchorage Daily News)
• ConocoPhillips ramps up lobbying as it seeks federal approval for its Willow drilling project in the Alaska Arctic. (Open Secrets)
• New Mexico advocates say private equity-backed companies that have bought San Juan Basin oil and gas assets are less transparent than their publicly traded predecessors. (Searchlight New Mexico)
• A consumer advocacy group says some California petroleum refiners are gouging customers by earning twice as much profit per barrel of gasoline than other companies. (Fox 11)
• New Mexico regulators seek funding to install air monitors to track Permian Basin oil and gas facility emissions. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)  

ETHANOL: A Colorado startup plans to develop carbon capture and sequestration projects at two ethanol plants in the eastern part of the state. (Colorado Sun)

GRID:
• Wyoming regulators approve the Gateway South and West interstate transmission lines, allowing PacifiCorp to begin construction this summer. (Local News 8)
• Palo Alto, California, officials say the city’s power grid must be substantially upgraded to handle ambitious building and transportation electrification plans. (Mercury News)

SOLAR:
• Public Service Company of New Mexico says it expects the federal probe of Asian solar imports to further delay projects to replace generation lost from a coal power plant’s closure until next year. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis urges the Biden administration to conclude a federal probe into Asian solar imports to avoid further supply chain disruptions. (STL News)
• Mining firm Rio Tinto refits its Utah copper smelter to recover tellurium, a critical mineral used in thin-film photovoltaic solar panels. (KSL)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Colorado lawmakers pass bills to create a $65 million grant program to help schools buy electric buses and a $28 million pilot program for fare-free public transit during the summer ozone season. (Colorado Newsline)
• A California congress member introduces a bill that would allocate $50 million annually to establish electric vehicle sharing programs at public housing projects. (Spectrum News 1)   
• A California food distributor plans a solar-powered microgrid to charge its electric truck fleet. (news release)

UTILITIES: Oregon regulators implement permanent rules allowing utilities to shut off power for wildfire prevention and establishing public-notification protocols. (KATU)

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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.