The energy transition is on in northwestern New Mexico

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

CLEAN ENERGY

• Advocates celebrate the construction of a 200 MW solar facility near the site of the decommissioned San Juan coal plant in northwestern New Mexico, saying the energy transition is underway in the historically fossil fuel-reliant region. (Durango Herald)

GEOTHERMAL

• Utah researchers look to use advanced drilling techniques to develop the ​“roadmap that is needed to build geothermal reservoirs anywhere.” (New Yorker)

• Hawaii lawmakers advance legislation aimed at encouraging geothermal energy development. (West Hawaii Today)

BIOFUELS

• Oregon and Washington residents push back against a proposed biofuel refinery on the banks of the Columbia River, saying an earthquake could lead to a catastrophic spill. (High Country News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Some federal Bureau of Land Management employees believe the Trump administration has spared the agency’s Wyoming office from mass firings to ensure there is adequate staff to permit fossil fuel development. (WyoFile)

• Wyoming’s oil and gas industry says it probably won’t meet the Trump administration’s ​“drill, baby, drill” objectives until commodity prices increase. (Cowboy State Daily)

• Democratic U.S. Senators from Colorado and Nevada voted with Republicans to kill a Biden-era fee on oil and gas facilities’ methane emissions. (E&E News)

EFFICIENCY

• Arizona officials call on the Trump administration to release $153 million in federal funding for the state’s low and middle-income household energy efficiency upgrades program, saying some contractors are not being paid. (KJZZ)

• A Colorado college’s project aims to upgrade mobile homes’ efficiency and help lower utility bills for low-income households. (Colorado Sun)

UTILITIES

• An Oregon lawmaker crafts legislation that would create a $1 billion fund to help utilities pay damages related to equipment-sparked wildfires. (Oregon Journalism Project)

• San Diego’s city council votes to create five new underground utilities districts to launch an effort to bury hundreds of miles of overhead power lines. (KUSI)

NUCLEAR

• Northwest advocates push back against Amazon’s proposed advanced nuclear reactor near the Hanford site in Washington, saying it’s ​“reckless” to put more waste in the contaminated site. (KIRO 7)

• Colorado lawmakers and residents spar over proposed legislation that would label nuclear power as ​“clean and green.” (Denver Gazette)

TRANSPORTATION

• Colorado’s largest transit agency hopes to establish passenger commuter rail service between Denver and Boulder by 2029, more than a decade earlier than previously expected. (CPR)

• A Los Angeles-area school district acquires 25 electric buses and fast-charging stations. (Electrek)

COMMENTARY

• A former Arizona energy official urges state lawmakers to reject a bill that would greenlight unlimited utility bonding, saying it would allow corporations to pass on costs to customers without oversight. (Arizona Capitol Times)