Republican budget bill jeopardizes Western manufacturing, mining

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

CRITICAL MATERIALS

• Nevada advocates worry U.S. House Republicans’ proposal to slash or phase out clean energy manufacturing and consumer electric vehicle tax credits could destroy the state’s budding lithium industry. (Nevada Independent)

• Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox praises the Trump administration’s decision to fast-track permitting for the Velvet-Wood uranium mine in the southeastern part of the state. (Salt Lake Tribune)

• A conservative think tank’s report says the Trump administration’s order aimed at expediting critical mineral extraction projects could be an economic boon for Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona. (Center Square)

• Republican Arizona lawmakers appeal a court order rejecting their bid to overturn a Biden-era national monument designation and uranium mining ban near the Grand Canyon. (Arizona Daily Star)

POLITICS

• U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, an Arizona Republican, urges his GOP colleagues to retain Biden-era clean energy tax credits that have benefited his district, but faces pressure from his party to vote for the cuts. (Politico)

• Three Trump administration cabinet members plan to attend Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s annual conference as part of an effort to ​“unleash” the state’s energy potential. (Anchorage Daily News)

SOLAR

• California advocates say a new community solar project that serves about 400 low-income Los Angeles households brings ​“energy justice” to pollution-burdened communities. (LAist)

HYDROPOWER

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks public input on a proposal to reduce hydropower dams’ output in Oregon’s Willamette Valley to benefit threatened fish. (Salem Statesman Journal)

CARBON CAPTURE

• The U.S. EPA gives Arizona regulators oversight of underground carbon injection wells, raising concerns that the state lacks adequate funding for the job. (AZ Mirror)

NUCLEAR

• California startup Oklo hopes the Trump administration’s industry-friendly policies will speed up federal licensing for its advanced nuclear reactor. (Utility Dive)

• Oregon’s NuScale Power expects federal regulators to approve its uprated 77 MW small modular nuclear reactor design this July. (Utility Dive)

OVERSIGHT

• The U.S. Interior Department seeks public input on its proposal to streamline federal regulations for energy development and other projects. (news release)

HYDROGEN

• Northern New Mexico’s Kit Carson Electric Cooperative launches a safety assessment of its proposed green hydrogen production facility and energy storage project. (Coop News)

COMMENTARY

• Colorado clean energy executives criticize local governments for thwarting statewide efforts to streamline rooftop solar and storage permitting. (Colorado Newsline)

• A New Mexico advocate urges residents and officials to support a contested solar-plus-storage project near Santa Fe, saying it’s ​“time to build good things” to fix the climate. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

• After a visit to the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona, California columnist Sammy Roth concludes the power source is neither an apocalyptic threat, nor the solution to humanity’s energy woes. (Los Angeles Times)

NEW FROM CANARY

• The Interior Department used a mysterious NOAA report to justify its stop-work order on Equinor’s Empire Wind project, which hasn’t been shared publicly or with the developer, Clare Fieseler reports.

• In Decatur, Illinois, clean energy installation training programs and a rise in EV manufacturing are creating jobs and changing lives after years of factory closures, Kari Lydersen reports.

• House Republicans’ budget plans would gut the Inflation Reduction Act while derailing nuclear and geothermal power development, which have explicit Trump administration support, Dan McCarthy reports.