STORAGE: A Utah firm files a final license application for a proposed 1,000 MW pumped hydropower storage facility in eastern Nevada. (Canary Media)

ALSO: Construction begins on Idaho’s largest battery energy storage systems. (Weekly Mailer)

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PUBLIC LANDS: Biden administration sources say the President will establish a new national monument in southern Nevada at a later date, but not next week, as previously reported. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)   

UTILITIES:
• New Mexico’s newly appointed regulators are set to consider Public Service Company of New Mexico and Avangrid’s proposed merger rejected by a prior commission in 2021. (Albuquerque Journal)
• An Arizona appeals court finds regulators were not authorized to cut a utility’s profits over bad customer service in 2021. (KJZZ) 
• Colorado lawmakers tasked with investigating sharp utility rate increases hold their first meeting. (Colorado Newsline)  
• California advocates call on regulators to hold Pacific Gas & Electric accountable for wildfires sparked by its equipment, power outages, and increasing rates. (ABC7)
• Hawaiian Electric seeks proposals for 500 to 700 MW of firm renewable generation, including geothermal, biofuel or trash-to-energy, by 2033

COAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management agrees to reevaluate a proposed coal lease in Utah and consider the social cost of greenhouse gasses and cumulative air quality impacts to settle an environmental lawsuit. (news release)

OIL & GAS: California regulators approve oil and gas work in areas put off-limits to drilling by a new law that was suspended pending the results of an industry-sponsored referendum in 2024. (Bakersfield Californian)

GRID:
• A developer proposes a 100-mile high-voltage transmission line under the Columbia River to deliver power to Portland. (Columbia Gorge News)
• California investigators lay out evidence against a man accused of blowing up Pacific Gas & Electric transformers last year but are still unclear on a motive for the attack. (CBS Bay Area)

CLIMATE: Southwestern startups and local governments launch a project aimed at decarbonizing an Arizona concrete plant. (Yahoo)

ELECTRIFICATION:
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis proposes offering tax credits to residents for the purchase of heat pumps and electric vehicles, bikes and lawn equipment to complement or fill in for federal incentives. (CPR)
• Software firm Adobe opens its 1.25 million-square-foot all-electric headquarters in San Jose, California. (GreenBiz) 

TRANSPORTATION: A California report finds the costs to build a 171-mile high-speed rail starter segment exceed future funding, raising concerns about the fate of the project. (CalMatters)

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CRITICAL MINERALS:
• A Nevada company claims to have discovered the nation’s highest-quality rare earth element deposit on public land in Montana. (Missoulian)   
• An Arizona county greenlights a proposed solar-powered cobalt sulfate production facility to process electric vehicle battery materials. (PV Magazine) 

NUCLEAR: NorthWestern Energy floats the possibility of constructing an advanced nuclear reactor at the Colstrip coal power plant in Montana. (Billings Gazette)

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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.