OIL & GAS: A judge halts work on a 5,000-well oil and gas drilling project in Wyoming after finding federal regulators miscalculated the project’s groundwater impacts. (Courthouse News Service)

ALSO:

UTILITIES: California regulators approve Pacific Gas & Electric’s fourth proposed rate hike in 15 months, saying it is necessary to recoup costs associated with winter storms and wildfire mitigation. (Sacramento Bee)

ELECTRIFICATION: California advocates call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would allow utilities to electrify entire neighborhoods rather than replace costly natural gas lines. (Canary Media)

GRID: 

  • A study finds increasing numbers of heat pumps, rooftop solar and other clean energy and efficiency measures have helped operators balance the Northwest grid. (OPB)
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers find building out high-voltage transmission projects currently under development in the Western U.S. would enable new clean energy projects and lead to a 73% drop in carbon emissions. (news release)

MICROGRIDS: The U.S. Energy Department loans a southern California tribal nation $72.8 million to fund a 15 MW carport solar array, a vanadium flow battery storage system and a microgrid. (Tribal Business News)

WIND: Washington state’s energy siting council votes to recommend approval of a less-scaled back version of the proposed Horse Heaven wind and solar project in the southeastern part of the state. (Center Square)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

CLEAN ENERGY: A Utah city votes not to participate in a state program giving residents the option to acquire 100% of their electricity from renewable sources. (Sandy City Journal)

COAL: A California real estate firm acquires the troubled Kemmerer coal mine in southwestern Wyoming, but does not disclose its plans for the facility. (Cowboy State Daily)

COMMENTARY: A California advocate calls on state regulators to reconsider a rule blocking solar contractors from installing residential battery systems, saying it will increase costs and slow the clean energy transition. (Times of San Diego)

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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.