New Mexico drillers struggle under Trump tariffs

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

FOSSIL FUELS

• New Mexico oil and gas companies says the Trump administration’s trade wars are leading to increased drilling costs and lower oil prices and harming its own ​“energy dominance” agenda. (NPR)

• PacifiCorp explores the feasibility of installing experimental oxy-combustion technology and carbon capture at its Dave Johnston coal plant in Wyoming, possibly rendering the facility’s smokestacks obsolete. (Cowboy State Daily)

• Advocates push back on the Trump administration’s plans to end a Biden-era ban on new federal coal leases in the Powder River Basin, citing the environmental impacts of mining and burning the fossil fuel. (Inside Climate News)

• California regulators consider easing petroleum refinery safety rules to resolve industry lawsuits. (Public Health Watch)

GEOTHERMAL

• Colorado startup Gradient Geothermal looks to tap hot water in depleted oil and gas wells in the northeastern part of the state to heat homes and buildings and generate power. (CPR)

GRID

• A University of California San Diego study finds that greater coordination among Western grid operators could save the region up to $3.25 billion annually in energy system costs. (news release)

• A Palm Spring neighborhood proposes a special assessment district to finance utility line undergrounding. (Palm Springs Post)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A new Utah law aims to boost portable solar panels, which don’t need to go through lengthy grid interconnection processes to start generating power, including balcony solar panels that have taken off in Germany. (Grist)

• California nonprofit GRID Alternatives launches an independent spinoff Tribal Energy Alternatives aimed at helping tribal nations develop clean energy projects. (Quitting Carbon)

• Washington state awards a school district $4.2 million to install solar and storage projects at two campuses. (news release)

UTILITIES

• Oregon lawmakers advance legislation that would prevent utilities from raising rates to cover equipment-sparked wildfire damages or legal costs. (KPIC)

• Arizona advocates call on Tucson to establish a publicly owned utility, saying it would be cheaper, more reliable and better on climate action. (Tucson Sentinel)

ELECTRIFICATION

• The Port of Seattle releases a plan for full-electrification of buildings, vehicles, vessels, and equipment across the facility. (Cruise Industry News)

HYDROPOWER

• A western Colorado utility agrees to purchase power from a hydroelectric facility on irrigation canals. (KKCO)

COMMENTARY

• A California editorial board urges lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow state regulators to revoke Pacific Gas & Electric’s license and replace it with another utility if it fails to meet safety standards. (East Bay Times)

• A Colorado columnist says Trump’s pro-coal executive orders and rule rollbacks are unlikely to revive the flagging industry because it doesn’t address the market forces driving the decline. (High Country News)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• The future of an offshore wind staging terminal in South Brooklyn — and the economic boost it was expected to give the community — is in jeopardy following federal orders stopping work on the Empire Wind project off Long Island, Clare Fieseler reports.

• The clean energy manufacturing investment boom is turning around, as firms have already cancelled $8 billion in projects this year, Dan McCarthy writes.

• A Minnesota bill would sunset the state’s groundbreaking community solar program and weaken its clean electricity standard, Brian Martucci writes for Minnesota Reformer.