OIL & GAS: The Biden administration agrees to reanalyze the climate impacts of nearly 4 million acres of oil and gas leases sold between 2016 and 2020 to settle a trio of lawsuits brought by environmental groups. (Casper Star-Tribune) 

ALSO:
• California advocates say regulators relied on outdated documentation when approving up to six new oil and gas wells in a Los Angeles neighborhood. (Los Angeles Times)
• California regulators find additional methane-emitting oil and gas wells near a Bakersfield residential neighborhood, bringing the number to 21. (Desert Sun)
• Federal regulators say the fire-suppression system at a leak-plagued U.S. Navy fuel storage facility in Hawaii was disabled for at least a year, endangering workers. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• The oil and gas and clean energy industries join forces to push for streamlined federal permitting for energy development. (Houston Chronicle)
• Marketed natural gas production from the Permian Basin reached an all time high in 2021. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)  

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COAL: A coal pile slide kills two workers at the Comanche power plant in Colorado. (Associated Press)

GRID: Western grid operators warn that high demand combined with diminishing hydropower and storage installation delays could lead to outages and high power prices this summer. (S&P Global) 

LITHIUM: California lawmakers approve $80 million for a university science and technology center that would offer degrees related to the area’s growing lithium extraction industry. (Desert Sun)

POLLUTION: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs an air-quality improvement bill that will fund renewable energy construction, grid upgrades, methane emissions reduction and electric vehicle deployment. (Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION:
• California regulators greenlight a driverless, all-electric taxi service in San Francisco. (Detroit Free Press)
• Oregon utility Pacific Power launches a pilot rebate program for customers to install electric vehicle chargers in homes or businesses. (Central Oregon Daily News)

BIOFUELS: Hawaii Electric and a biomass company ask regulators to reverse their May denial of a power purchase agreement for a tree-burning power plant. (Honolulu Civil Beat) 

CLIMATE: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon joins 15 other Republican governors to oppose a proposed federal rule that would require publicly traded companies to report climate-related data to investors. (Casper Star-Tribune)

SOLAR: A renewable energy developer proposes constructing two 80 MW solar facilities in Washington state’s Yakima Valley. (Yakima Herald-Republic)   

UTILITIES: Black Hills Energy plans to power its Colorado customers with 79% carbon-free energy sources by 2030. (Fox21)

NUCLEAR: California Gov. Gavin Newsom asks the U.S. Energy Department to change its nuclear bailout program to make the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant eligible for federal funds to keep it operating. (Lompoc Record)

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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.