SOLAR: A Singapore-based solar company plans to establish a $1 billion manufacturing plant with 1,800 employees in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Albuquerque Journal)

ALSO:
A Colorado college professor partners with the Navajo Nation Solar Initiative to bring electricity to off-grid reservation homes. (Durango Herald)
A nonprofit installs a rooftop solar system on the Bishop Paiute Tribe’s affordable housing complex in California. (Solar Power World)

CLIMATE:
• The death toll reaches 55 after firefighters douse wildfires in Maui; Hawaii’s governor says it will “without a doubt” cost billions of dollars to rebuild. (Washington Post)
California works with fossil fuel-financing banks to fund state climate change fighting initiatives. (Capital & Main)  
• Montana is set to spend $95,000 for expert testimony on its behalf in a youths’ climate lawsuit over the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies. (Daily Montanan)

WIND:
A California county votes to allow a wind power facility to begin operating without a federal golden eagle incidental take permit. (Santa Maria Times)
A proposed 60 MW floating wind power project near a space force base off California’s coast garners a key permit from the U.S. Defense Department. (Recharge)

UTILITIES:
Southern California Gas Co. agrees to pay $71 million to resolve outstanding issues relating to the 2015 Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility blowout that released 100,000 tons of methane and other substances. (City News Service)
California regulators fine San Diego Community Power more than $1 million for failing to procure sufficient backup resources even though the utility says the power wasn’t available on the market. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
A California utility executive defends his positions on climate change and the utility’s fight against the U.S. EPA’s proposed power plant greenhouse gas emissions rules. (Los Angeles Times)
Montana regulators seek public input on NorthWestern Energy’s integrated resource plan criticized by advocates for being too fossil fuel-reliant. (KPAX)
New Mexico regulators begin developing guidelines for utilities looking to join regional transmission organizations. (NM Political Report)

COAL: A Colorado entrepreneur uses methane gas leaking from abandoned coal mines to fire tiles made from reservoir-clogging silt. (Aspen Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado is slated to launch its electric bicycle rebate program next week. (9News)

CLEAN ENERGY: A Montana nonprofit launches a program aimed at bringing young mothers into the clean energy workforce. (Missoulian)

EFFICIENCY: Colorado’s real estate industry pushes back against proposed state rules requiring efficiency upgrades for large residential and commercial buildings. (Denver Gazette)

HYDROGEN: California’s energy commission allocates $6 million to two hydrogen fueling station projects. (S&P Global)

NUCLEAR: Wyoming’s energy office recommends a combined $19 million in state funding for a nuclear microreactor feasibility study and a proposed carbon storage hub in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)

COMMENTARY: A Nevada conservationist urges the federal Bureau of Land Management to implement rules guiding renewable energy development to less sensitive public lands. (Nevada Independent)

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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.