HYDROGEN: At least three companies are pursuing hydrogen projects in northwest New Mexico, aiming to supply grid and transportation energy. (Albuquerque Journal)

CLIMATE: Colorado has two pending bills that would use the social cost of carbon in energy efficiency and climate planning, but calculating that figure remains daunting. (Colorado Sun)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Costs and permitting times for electric vehicle charging stations are higher than the national average, despite a six-year-old state law requiring a more streamlined process. (Canary Media)
• Idaho National Laboratory researchers are studying how microgrids could provide the surge of power needed for high-speed electric vehicle charging. (news release)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• California Rep. Mike Levin is seeking to build bipartisan support for a bill that would set priority areas for renewable energy on public lands. (S&P Global)
• President Biden will reportedly look to other countries to supply metals for electric vehicles rather than expediting domestic mining permits. (Reuters)
• A group of Bureau of Land Management retirees are urging the Biden administration to move the agency’s headquarters back to Washington. (E&E News, subscription)

OIL & GAS:
• An oil well complex in South Los Angeles was deemed unsafe a year ago, but nothing has been done to mitigate the hazard. (Capital & Main)
• The Biden administration opens the public comment period on an oil company’s bid to drill two exploratory wells just outside of Dinosaur National Monument. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• Public Service Company of New Mexico seeks 700 megawatts of new generating capacity to replace power lost when its coal-fired San Juan Generating Station closes in 2022. (Albuquerque Journal)
• PG&E has reached a deal to sell its San Francisco headquarters for $800 million as it moves its offices to Oakland. (Mercury News)
• Washington advocates ask for more time before utilities resume shutoffs for unpaid bills on July 31: “there are a lot of people who have a mountain of unpaid bills that are going to come due all at once.” (KING 5)
• Colorado Springs Utilities begins installing smart meters, with a goal of improving reliability and providing customers with more data about their energy use. (KRDO)

GRID: A bill floated by Colorado lawmakers to create a regional transmission authority is facing firm opposition from Xcel Energy. (Empowering Colorado)

SOLAR: Renewable energy developer Greenbacker breaks ground on an 80 megawatt solar installation in Carbon County, Utah. (reNEWS)

COAL: Xcel Energy hopes to reinvest in the site of its Hayden coal-fired power plant after its 2028 closure while preserving the tax base of a northwestern Colorado county. (Steamboat Pilot & Today)

POLLUTION: Attorneys general from Alaska, Washington and Oregon are part of a challenge to EPA rules for calculating pollution from wood stoves, saying the current rules are prone to manipulation. (E&E News, subscription)

TRANSPORTATION: Los Angeles used the coronavirus-caused lull to move public transportation projects forward, but it’s not clear how many riders will return after the pandemic. (Los Angeles Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A consumer advocate urges California’s air board to force Tesla to divest from Bitcoin due to the cryptocurrency’s energy use and resulting greenhouse gas emissions. (Mercury News)
• Advocates say Colorado can be a proving ground for developing the technology needed to reach 100% clean energy. (Colorado Politics)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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.