TRANSITION: A New Mexico county’s officials say proactive economic diversification and state energy transition funds have helped the community weather last year’s San Juan coal plant and mine closure better than expected. (Farmington Daily Times) 

OIL & GAS: A San Francisco Bay Area petroleum refinery released a plume of black coke dust onto a nearby community for the third time since July, prompting a resident to call the events “a disturbing new normal.” (Mercury News)

HYDROGEN: Xcel Energy delays a plan to blend hydrogen into its natural gas supply at a Colorado subdivision after advocates and residents raised concerns. (CPR) 

WIND: California legislation aimed at shortening the offshore wind permitting timeline by up to five years is signed into law. (Times-Standard) 

UTILITIES: California regulators propose Pacific Gas & Electric shareholders pay a $45 million penalty for the utility’s role in sparking the 2021 Dixie wildfire. (Reuters)

SOLAR: 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

TRANSPORTATION: Washington state receives more than $1 billion in federal funding to upgrade highways and bridges and build out the electric vehicle charging network. (KUOW)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators find Energy Northwest failed to accurately assess radiation doses of workers who inhaled radioactive particles during a 2021 incident at the Columbia nuclear power plant in Washington state. (Tri-City Herald) 

CLIMATE: The U.S. EPA offers grants to Northwest states and tribal nations for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

GRID: An electrical equipment malfunction leaves nearly 24,000 utility customers without power in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Coronado Times)

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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.