OIL & GAS: Environmental groups plan to sue the Biden administration over its approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow drilling project in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, saying the decision undermines a commitment to halve greenhouse gasses by 2030. (E&E News)

ALSO:
• Geophysicists say a series of earthquakes in southern Colorado last week likely were triggered by oil and gas wastewater injection. (Colorado Newsline)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards $47 million to researchers working to develop technologies to detect, quantify and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. (news release)
• A company decommissions and cleans up a natural gas pipeline in a national preserve in New Mexico. (National Parks Traveler)

BIOFUELS: Hawaii’s Supreme Court won’t consider an appeal of regulators’ 2022 rejection of an agreement to sell power from its wood-burning generation facility. (Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

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NUCLEAR:
• New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill that would block a company from storing radioactive waste at a proposed facility in the southeastern part of the state. (NM Political Report)
• Alaska regulators seek public input on proposed small nuclear reactor siting rules. (KUAC)
• Records show a Utah uranium mill received 660 metric tons of radioactive material from Estonia last year, sparking concern among the nearby Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of increased contamination risk. (Fox 13)

STORAGE:
• Some northern California residents push back on a proposed 300 MW lithium-ion battery storage facility, citing fire risk and potential impacts to nearby wetlands. (Marin Independent Journal)  
• New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill that would require investor-owned utilities to develop annual energy storage plans. (NM Political Report) 

UTILITIES: Public Service Company of New Mexico says its proposed merger with Avangrid would help the utility accelerate its transition to clean energy.
(E&E News)

SOLAR:
• California researchers develop agrivoltaic-friendly, semi-transparent organic solar panels that generate power without blocking light to plants. (electrek)
• New Mexico’s nascent community solar program garners more than 400 proposals to develop facilities totaling 1,700 MW. (Roswell Daily News)

TRANSPORTATION: The nation’s first zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial ferry is set to undergo trial runs in San Francisco later this year. (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California’s energy commission awards solar electric vehicle startup Aptera Motors $21 million to help it scale up production of its namesake EV. (electrek)
• Oregon lawmakers introduce a bill that would levy a mileage tax on electric vehicle owners. (KDRV)

COMMENTARY: A California consumer advocate says more transparency in the gasoline and natural gas spot markets would discourage price gouging and keep fuel prices in check. (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.