Colorado tribe pushes forward with solar-plus-storage project

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.

CLEAN ENERGY

• The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in southwestern Colorado moves forward with its 270 MW Foxtail solar-plus-storage project on tribal land in New Mexico despite the Trump administration’s hostility to clean energy. (NPR)

• Federal data show 53% of Colorado’s electricity consumption came from renewable sources during the first quarter of the year. (Big Pivots)

• Slot machine manufacturing firm Aristocrat Gaming says it plans to power its Southern Nevada operations with 100% renewable electricity as NV Energy selects the company for its 2026 GreenEnergy Rider program. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

FOSSIL FUELS

• New Mexico regulators vote to increase oil and gas reclamation bond amounts and strengthen regulations in an effort to ensure taxpayers aren’t burdened with abandoned well cleanup costs. (Source NM)

• Washington state advocates push back on a proposed oil pipeline just over the Canada border, saying it would increase tanker traffic and spill risk in the Salish Sea. (Washington State Standard)

• A federal appeals court upholds southern California regulations phasing out the sale of large gas-fired water heaters and boilers, saying they do not violate federal law. (Clean Technica)

• Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado’s attorneys general join other states opposing the U.S. EPA’s proposal to loosen coal ash disposal rules, saying it could harm water sources. (Arizona Republic)

• Arizona Public Service plans to reopen part of its retired Cholla coal plant as a natural gas-fired facility. (KJZZ)

• A California Senate committee advances legislation aimed at slowing development of a Trump administration-backed proposed coal export terminal in Oakland. (E&E News)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 50 proposed oil and gas leases on 36,000 acres in south-central California. (news release)

UTILITIES

• New Mexico regulators find Blackstone Infrastructure’s 2025 unapproved purchase of $400 million of PNM’s stocks violated state law, but that the firms’ proposed merger can move forward. (Source NM)

CLIMATE

• Boulder, Colorado, updates its climate action plan after data show the city is falling behind on achieving emissions reductions goals by 2030. (Boulder Reporting Lab)

CARBON CAPTURE

• California advocates and industry debate the merits and impacts of carbon dioxide capture and sequestration after an oil company brings the state’s first carbon removal and storage project online in Kern County. (Inside Climate News)

DATA CENTERS

• Alaska residents push back on Stak Energy’s proposed natural gas plant on the North Slope to power planned hyperscale data centers. (Northern Journal)

• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek says she will push for new safeguards on data center development, saying it’s time for the state to ​“stop being a cheap date.” (OPB)

NUCLEAR

• Federal data show U.S. uranium production and exploration have reached the highest level in a decade after idled mines in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado come back online. (Northern Miner)