ELECTRIFICATION: Los Angeles’ city council votes to ban most natural gas appliances in new construction and require new buildings to be emissions-free, but does not set a timeline for the rules to take effect. (Los Angeles Times) 

GRID: Nevada conservationists and the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe urge federal officials to reroute the proposed GreenlinkWest transmission line to avoid disturbing public land and cultural resources. (Associated Press)

WIND:
• Wyoming wind industry officials say construction of two recently permitted high-voltage transmission lines will spur significant wind power development in the state. (WyoFile)
• The 3,000 MW SunZia wind power project proposed for central New Mexico and scheduled for 2026 completion will be among the world’s largest onshore wind developments. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Construction is slated to begin this summer on a 160 MW wind-plus-storage installation in central Montana. (Montana Free Press)
• A Wyoming biologist urges federal regulators to pause wind development in some areas to allow for further studies on how turbines may impact eagles. (Cowboy State Daily) 

SOLAR:
• A Wyoming researcher finds utility-scale solar installations can disrupt big game movement and urges developers to site and design installations to mitigate impacts. (WyoFile) 
• Analysts say high energy prices and utilities’ acceptance of distributed generation have helped Hawaii achieve the nation’s highest percentage of homes with rooftop solar. (New York Times)   

HYDROPOWER: Federal officials say drought and dropping lake levels have decreased Hoover Dam’s hydropower production capacity by 33%. (KLAS)

UTILITIES:
• Washington state utility Avista says it won’t implement fire-prevention power outages this summer except when necessary to fight fires. (Spokesman-Review)
• California regulators consider establishing a fixed charge for utility customers living in high fire risk areas to cover wildfire mitigation activities. (news release)
• Colorado regulators say Holy Cross Energy’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2030 is accurate and attainable. (Vail Daily)  

OIL & GAS:
• Alaska analysts say two oil companies’ decision to spend $10 million to exit oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge indicate a general disinterest in drilling the preserve. (Anchorage Daily News)
• New Mexico economists say high oil and gas prices and production levels have resulted in unprecedented revenue growth, but urge lawmakers to diversify the economy to insulate against volatility. (Carlsbad Current-Argus) 
• New Mexico ethics watchdogs say the oil and gas industry spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to block a state emissions-reduction bill that failed to pass. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

NUCLEAR: Idaho National Laboratory researchers work to produce tritium, one of two critical fuels for nuclear fusion. (CNBC)

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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.