Colorado advocates slam Xcel Energy for profits and rate hikes

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

UTILITIES

• Colorado consumer advocates criticize Xcel Energy for proposing a significant rate increase after posting a $903 million operating profit for 2025. (Colorado Sun, Big Pivots)

• Portland General Electric plans to add 1,000 MW of solar generation and battery energy storage capacity within three years, the Oregon utility’s largest clean energy investment to date. (OPB)

SOLAR

• The U.S. Interior Department restarts reviews for at least 20 utility-scale solar projects on federal lands that have been stuck in the permitting pipeline since the beginning of the Trump administration. (E&E News)

• Lawmakers in every Western state except Nevada and Montana consider bills that would facilitate plug-in solar panel adoption; Utah passed such legislation last year. (Canary Media)

GRID

• The federal Bureau of Land Management issues its final environmental impact statement for the proposed GridLiance transmission upgrade project in Clark and Nye counties in Nevada. (news release)

CRITICAL MATERIALS

• The federal Bureau of Land Management approves the Silver Peak lithium mine’s proposed expansion in Nevada. (news release)

OIL & GAS

• Industry experts say a firm’s proposed oil pipeline from the Montana-Canada border to a Wyoming storage facility and hub is an effort to fill the gap left by the canceled Keystone XL project. (WyoFile)

• A judge upholds her temporary injunction blocking Sable Offshore Corp. from restarting a pipeline network attached to rigs off California’s coast, dealing a blow to the company’s attempt to use the Trump administration to skirt California regulators. (CalMatters, E&E News)

• Andreas Petroleum agrees to pay the federal government $3.5 million for damages related to a 2020 tanker-truck gasoline spill in Yellowstone National Park. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 39 proposed oil and gas leases covering 51,114 acres in Utah. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Nevada residents and advocates slam NV Energy and state transportation officials for building only 16 EV charging stations out of the 120 mandated by 2021 legislation. (Nevada Independent)

• A poll finds California voters are split down party lines on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed $200-million EV rebate program, with Republicans and Independents generally opposed and Democrats in favor. (E&E News)

• Wyoming lawmakers consider legislation aimed at ending ​“triple taxation” on EV owners by bringing an alternative fuels tax into line with gasoline taxes. (WyoFile)

DATA CENTERS

• A Denver energy firm signs on to develop behind-the-meter geothermal power facilities for Muir Global Holdings’ Los Angeles-area AI data centers. (news release)

COMMENTARY

• Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter calls on policymakers to accelerate smartly sited wind, solar, and battery storage development to help meet growing demand, stabilize utility bills, and increase grid reliability. (Colorado Sun)

NEW FROM CANARY

• AI: Does not compute — Amory B. Lovins and Justin Locke

• Massachusetts energy bill would make big cuts to energy efficiency — Sarah Shemkus

• Global giant Tata Steel is using a heat battery to curb emissions — Maria Gallucci

• Politicians wake up to the data center dilemma — Kathryn Krawczyk