OIL & GAS: A federal judge rejects ExxonMobil’s bid to truck millions of gallons of crude oil through central California, stifling the company’s plans to restart offshore wells shut after a 2015 pipeline spill. (Associated Press)

ALSO:

UTILITIES: 

  • Washington state residents sue Inland Power and Light Company for allegedly sparking the Gray fire in August that burned 240 homes and killed one person. (Associated Press) 
  • A Colorado wholesale power provider looks to hit its goal of zero-carbon emissions by 2030 by upping solar and wind generation and converting a retiring coal plant to run on hydrogen and biofuels. (Loveland Reporter-Herald)
  • The deadly Maui wildfires prompt Hawaiian Electric to delay implementation of a time-of-use rate pilot program. (Hawaii Public Radio) 

GRID: New Mexico regulators weigh the pros and cons of the state’s utilities joining one of two regional transmission organizations being developed in the West. (RTO Insider, subscription)

CLEAN ENERGY: 

  • Wyoming officials worry the Biden administration’s environmental justice requirements may hurt the state’s ability to compete for federal clean energy funds aimed at disadvantaged communities. (WyoFile)
  • The U.S. Energy Department looks to convert 30 square miles of the contaminated Hanford nuclear site in Washington state into a clean technology park. (RTO Insider, subscription) 

HYDROPOWER: The Biden administration directs federal agencies to honor tribal treaty and trust obligations by restoring Northwest salmon populations, lending momentum to efforts to breach hydropower dams. (OPB)

SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management greenlights a proposed 19 MW solar-plus-storage installation in southern Nevada. (KLAS)

MICROGRIDS: An oil and gas company plans to construct a solar-and-storage powered microgrid outside Los Angeles to provide electricity to its production facilities. (Solarquarter)  

BATTERIES: 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona installs six DC fast electric vehicle charging stations. (Electrek) 

CRITICAL MINERALS: 

COMMENTARY: Alaska conservationists urge state lawmakers to extract themselves from a fossil fuel-induced “fog of doubt,” end subsidies for oil and gas development and redirect the funds toward clean energy. (Alaska Beacon)

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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.