SOLAR: A Swiss company plans to establish a solar cell production facility in Colorado Springs, bringing an estimated 350 jobs. (KRDO)

ALSO: Arizona utility Salt River Project agrees to purchase 800 MW from the proposed 1,200 MW CO Bar Solar project in the northern part of the state. (news release)

WIND:
• Deer find refuge next to turbines as a fast-growing wildfire tears through a wind power facility and threatens other energy infrastructure in Washington state. (Associated Press)  
• Federal wildlife officials issue incidental take permits for California condors to eight wind power facilities and require developers to spend more than $6 million to support the endangered bird. (Bakersfield Californian)

OIL & GAS:
• Montana conservationists and the petroleum industry say the Biden administration’s proposed oil and gas reforms could curtail federal leasing in the state. (Billings Gazette)
• California regulators plan to plug and reclaim 100 idle oil and gas wells that have been leaking methane for an undetermined amount of time. (Bakersfield Californian)

GRID:
• Bonneville Power Administration plans some $2 billion worth of power grid upgrades in the Northwest to accommodate a predicted 23% increase in electricity demand. (Seattle Times)
• California’s grid operator urges federal regulators to reject an energy company’s request to recover more than double a cost cap for its Ten West Link transmission project under construction in Arizona. (Utility Dive)
• A severe thunderstorm in Tucson, Arizona, topples utility lines, leaving more than 1,000 customers without power during a record-breaking heatwave. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Oakland, California’s city council urges Pacific Gas & Electric to bury its power lines in wildfire-prone areas in and around the city. (Oaklandside)

DIVESTMENT: Seattle University becomes Washington’s first higher education institution to completely divest from fossil fuel interests. (Seattle Times)

CLIMATE:
• An international research team finds the heat wave gripping the Southwest would be “almost impossible” without climate change. (Inside Climate News)
• Arizona’s congressional Democrats seek federal funding to help low-income families cover electricity and air-conditioning bills during the ongoing heat wave. (Arizona Republic) 

NUCLEAR: An environmental group’s study finds extending Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s operations through 2045 could cost California utility ratepayers up to $45 billion. (The Hill)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Colorado advocates and policymakers debate whether private investors or utility ratepayers should foot the bill for public electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (Colorado Sun)
• Electric vehicle sales flatten in Colorado, but demand for hybrid cars remains strong. (Colorado Sun)
• An analysis finds Montana, Alaska and Wyoming are electric vehicle charging deserts, with fewer than 100 public stations each. (InvestigateTV)

COAL: Wyoming researchers work to develop coal-based asphalt. (County 17)

ELECTRIFICATION: Oregon begins providing rebates to landlords installing electric heat pumps in rental housing units. (OPB)

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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.