OIL & GAS: President Biden is expected to approve a scaled back version of ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil and gas drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope, but also plans to limit or ban drilling in the Arctic Ocean and on millions of acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (Washington Post, E&E News)

ALSO:
• Documents show ConocoPhillips spent $4.6 million on lobbying during the first three months of 2022 as it sought approval for its proposed Willow project. (Open Secrets)
• New Mexico advocates say oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin are flouting new state rules aimed at limiting methane venting and flaring while budget limitations hamper enforcement. (Inside Climate News)
• A Permian Basin firm says it has developed a method of producing gasoline from methane that would otherwise be flared from oil and gas wells. (News West 9)

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COAL: Federal regulators fine a Utah company $300,000 for safety violations following an accident that killed two workers at the Comanche coal power plant in Colorado last year. (CBS Colorado)

UTILITIES:
• Parties on both sides of a proposed Avangrid-Public Service Company of New Mexico merger raise questions about due process as regulators prepare to reconsider the issue. (Albuquerque Journal)   
• New Mexico’s attorney general asks regulators to require PNM to issue bonds to fund its move away from coal as required by the state’s Energy Transition Act. (KRQE)
• Washington state lawmakers advance a bill that would require utilities to create wildfire risk reduction plans. (KPQ)  

EQUITY: Hawaii regulators seek to integrate energy justice practices into their proceedings and make the state’s energy system more equitable. (Hawaii Public Radio) 

HYDROGEN: Some southwestern Arizona residents worry a concentrated solar-powered green hydrogen production facility proposed for the area will further drain dwindling groundwater supplies. (ABC15) 

HYDROPOWER: Federal officials consider releasing cold water from Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona to benefit downstream fish even though it would further reduce hydropower production from drought-diminished Lake Powell. (Arizona Republic) 

WIND: A Northwest fishery management council says the federal government has “essentially chosen prime fishing areas” for offshore wind development and the process should be scrapped and restarted. (National Fisherman)

SOLAR: New Mexico regulators work to integrate the state’s new community solar program into utilities’ grids. (Albuquerque Journal)

CLIMATE:
• Oregon lawmakers consider requiring every public school district to develop a curriculum addressing climate change’s impacts. (Associated Press)
• Tucson’s city council approves a climate plan that aims at achieving community-wide carbon neutrality by 2045. (KGUN) 

GRID: A powerful storm damages utility lines in central California, leaving nearly 40,000 customers without power. (KSBW)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Colorado school district acquires two electric buses to replace diesel-fueled ones. (Aspen Daily News)

COMMENTARY: A California editorial board urges policymakers to tap the growing fleet of electric vehicle batteries as a backup power source for the grid.  (Los Angeles Times) 

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Jonathan P. Thompson

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.