WIND: A Denver fossil fuel magnate proposes a 600-turbine wind farm in Wyoming with a 732-mile transmission line to carry the power to California’s strained grid, but the project faces environmental and landowner opposition. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO: A developer proposes a 300-400 MW wind farm on about 32,000 acres of private and public land in southern Idaho. (East Idaho News)

OIL & GAS:
• The Biden administration denies allegations that it violated environmental laws and failed to consider and disclose the climate impacts when approving 3,500 oil and gas drilling permits since early 2021. (Reuters)
• Legal analysts say the Biden administration can approve ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil and gas development in Alaska even though environmental reviews found it could cause up to $18 billion in climate damages. (E&E News)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management awards $1.1 million in contracts for plugging and reclaiming 11 abandoned wells in Utah and California, the first such work funded under last year’s infrastructure law. (news release)
• A New Mexico oil and gas operator agrees to pay $1.8 million to resolve state violation notices at four wastewater injection wells in the Permian Basin. (Associated Press)
• Colorado regulators issue a long-delayed air pollution permit to a Denver oil refinery while also tightening its monitoring requirements. (Colorado Sun)

UTILITIES:
• An Arizona utility plans to spread out new natural gas generating units between several sites after regulators rejected its proposal to install all 16 units in one place. (Arizona Republic)
• A southern California county considers withdrawing from an embattled clean energy power authority it joined last year, citing concerns about pricing and transparency. (Voice of OC)
• Pacific Gas & Electric officials say its fire prevention strategies have decreased the risk of equipment-sparked fires by 90%, but they have also driven up costs. (San Francisco Chronicle)

CLEAN ENERGY: U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland plans to visit northern New Mexico this weekend to tout Inflation Reduction Act funding for clean energy and abandoned mine and oil and gas well cleanup. (Albuquerque Journal)

SOLAR: Supply chain constraints delay construction on seven of nine planned solar projects in Hawaii, but industry officials predict the Inflation Reduction Act will break the logjam. (Hawaii Public Radio) 

GRID:
• A high voltage short-circuit at an oil-fired power plant in Hawaii leaves about 65,000 utility customers without power. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
• Nearly 2,500 Tesla home battery owners sent 16.5 MW of solar power to California’s grid last week during a virtual power plant pilot program’s first activation. (Utility Dive) 

TRANSPORTATION:
• Toyota drops its challenge to California’s authority to set its own auto emission standards, ending a years-long legal standoff. (Los Angeles Times)
• Tesla lawyers urge a California judge to dismiss the state civil rights agency’s lawsuit alleging widespread race discrimination at the company’s Fremont assembly plant, saying the suit is politically motivated. (Reuters)   
• New Mexico awards $7.3 million to entities around the state to replace diesel trucks and buses with low- or zero-emissions vehicles. (Albuquerque Journal)

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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.