OIL & GAS: An aerial survey of the Permian Basin detects 533 oil and gas facilities consistently emitting large volumes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. (Associated Press)

ALSO:
• Environmental advocates laud provisions in a new U.S. Senate climate bill that would increase oil and gas royalties and reclamation bonds, but condemn a requirement to lease 2 million acres for fossil fuel development prior to issuing renewable energy rights of way. (New York Times)   
• A California county considers increasing oil and gas reclamation bonds to bring them closer to the level needed to plug and clean up idle wells. (Ventura County Star)  

COAL:
• Hawaii’s only coal power plant receives its last shipment of coal in preparation for its September retirement. (Hawaii Public Radio)
• Environmental groups sue Montana regulators over their approval of a coal mine expansion, saying the project would worsen climate change’s effects. (Montana Free Press)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A California school district’s electric bus fleet becomes the nation’s first vehicle-to-grid project to go online. (Los Angeles Times)
• Colorado launches a month-long initiative to provide free public transit in the greater Denver area during the region’s peak ozone season. (Colorado Newsline)  

GRID:
• California’s grid avoids power outages so far this summer as cooler than expected coastal temperatures dampen electricity demand. (E&E News, subscription)
• A clean energy advocate-commissioned report finds a Western regional transmission organization would add renewable energy to the grid, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and save ratepayers billions of dollars. (Utility Dive) 

SOLAR:
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a 1,000 MW solar-plus-storage project proposed for 10,000 acres in southeastern Arizona. (news release)
• The U.S. Energy Department launches pilot programs aimed at promoting equitable access to community solar in five states, including Colorado and New Mexico. (Nextgov) 

HYDROPOWER: Oregon researchers find removing four hydropower dams in Washington state provides the “only reasonable opportunity” to save the region’s imperiled salmon. (news release)

GEOTHERMAL: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis launches an initiative encouraging Western states to develop geothermal power. (Center Square)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Energy Department selects a design for a proposed fast nuclear test reactor in Idaho that would be used to develop fuels for advanced reactors. (Reuters) 

COMMENTARY: A climate advocate urges California officials to turn to rooftop solar and electric vehicle-to-grid technology to displace fossil fuels from the electricity sector. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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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.