SOLAR: Sacramento, California’s municipal utility votes to slash net metering rates for rooftop solar by 44% in spite of solar advocates’ protests. (Solar Power World)

ALSO:
• Advocates say tribal solar programs can strengthen Indigenous self determination through workforce development and energy independence. (Yes Magazine)
• The U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to lease 600 acres of Utah public land that has been pre-vetted for solar development. (PV Magazine)

OIL & GAS:
• Environmental groups sue the Biden administration over a regulation allowing oil and gas development to disturb polar bears and walruses. (E&E News, subscription)
• Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso says federal regulators’ natural gas pipeline permitting delays threaten energy supplies. (E&E News, subscription)
• A new study finds New Mexico’s state land office, which receives most of its funds from oil and gas leasing, is “well-positioned” to diversify its revenue sources. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

GRID:
• The Western Area Power Administration’s Desert Southwest region joins the Western Energy Imbalance market. (RTO Insider)
• Mylar balloons contacting power lines have caused 86 power outages so far this year in southern New Mexico. (KVIA) 

UTILITIES:
• California’s Supreme Court seeks communications between Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and state regulators regarding Pacific Gas & Electric’s wildfire related liabilities. (ABC10)
• An Orange County community choice utility approves financing plans, taking it one step closer to launching next year. (Voice of OC)
• Four Colorado natural gas utilities seek rate increases to recover costs associated with February’s natural gas price spike. (Kiowa County Press)

CLIMATE:
• Boise’s mayor announces the city is set to reach its 100% clean electricity goal next year, seven years early. (KBOI)
• Firefighters wrap giant sequoia trees with aluminum blankets to protect them from the KNP Complex blaze burning in California’s Sequoia National Park. (Los Angeles Times)
• Increasing wildfire hazard due to climate change is pushing up home insurance premiums in Western states. (Mother Jones)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A Colorado city’s transit agency plans to fuel its bus fleet with compressed natural gas produced at a wastewater treatment plant. (Western Slope Now)
• A Seattle company is developing one of the world’s first zero-emissions engines for 300-ton-capacity mining trucks. (Seattle Times)

HYDROPOWER: Federal water managers plan to slow releases from Lake Powell next year to preserve hydropower generating capacity rather than draining upstream reservoirs to bolster water levels. (Water Education Colorado) 

LITHIUM: A South African company buys a 50% stake in the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project proposed for western Nevada. (E&E News, subscription)

NUCLEAR: A California judge rejects a challenge from a nuclear safety advocacy group and allows Southern California Edison to dismantle San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Diego. (My News LA) 

COMMENTARY: An Arizona city councilwoman says the state’s second largest utility should not expand a natural gas plant because it will harm the climate, is a bad investment, and is unsafe. (Arizona Capitol Times)

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.