OIL & GAS: An environmental group’s study finds oil and gas development in New Mexico disproportionately affects people of color, low-income communities, children and elderly people. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

ALSO:  Under a proposed consent decree, the U.S. EPA has two years to decide whether to include New Mexico under a national smog plan that would tighten emission controls on oil and gas facilities. (E&E News, subscription)

TRANSITION: Navajo Nation leaders call on Arizona regulators to approve a proposed $100-million Just Transition fund to offset impacts of coal power plant closures. (ABC4) 

UTILITIES:
• Colorado regulators approve Xcel Energy’s proposed rate hike to cover high natural gas costs during a 2021 cold snap, but warns the utility not to let it happen again. (Colorado Sun)
• Oregon utilities use big data analytics and artificial intelligence to forecast weather and fire risks, better track their grids and model potential outages. (Oregonian)   
• San Diego Gas & Electric officials tell customers to expect planned power outages to reduce wildfire risks during this year’s peak fire season. (FOX 5 San Diego)

TRANSPORTATION:  Los Angeles is set to consider banning the construction of new gasoline stations. (Grist)

GRID: Rocky Mountain Power plans to begin construction next week on a Wyoming-to-Utah transmission line expected to carry power from wind, coal with carbon capture and nuclear projects. (Oil City News)

HYDROGEN: A California startup says it has developed a linear generator that can easily switch fuels from natural gas to hydrogen or ammonia without changing the hardware. (Canary Media)

CRYPTO: A cryptocurrency mining center co-located behind the meter with a 100 MW solar facility goes online in western Colorado. (news release)

SOLAR: A study commissioned by Wyoming environmental groups finds rooftop solar is growing in the state and societal benefits outweigh the costs. (Oil City News)

CLIMATE:
• Air conditioning proliferates in Colorado cities due to climate change-caused warming, increasing buildings’ emissions and straining the grid. (Denverite)
• A Democratic California lawmaker kills a state bill that would have required public employee pension funds to divest $9 billion from fossil fuel companies. (Press Democrat)

COMMENTARY:
• California energy analysts say Stanford University’s new sustainability school invites conflicts of interests by soliciting fossil fuel funding and only pays lip service to environmental justice. (The Nation)
• A Colorado energy journalist says inflation and supply chain issues are hampering utilities’ efforts to replace coal with renewables and threaten the grid’s reliability under the strain of rising temperatures. (Big Pivots)  

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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.