Trump sues to overturn California’s oil and gas setback law

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.

OIL & GAS

• The Trump administration files a lawsuit seeking to overturn California’s law banning new oil and gas wells near homes, schools, hospitals, and parks, claiming it violates federal law and hampers energy development. (Los Angeles Times, E&E News)

• Advocacy groups revive a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration’s proposed oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (E&E News)

• The developer of a contested proposed oil-hauling railway in Utah hires longtime Trump administration adviser Roger Stone to lobby for the project. (E&E News)

• Valero plans to begin decommissioning its petroleum refinery in Benicia, California, and lay off about 237 employees. (Mercury News)

COAL

• Washington state’s attorney general and environmental advocates file legal challenges seeking to block the Trump administration’s order to continue operating the Centralia coal plant beyond its planned end-of-2025 retirement date. (Seattle Times)

• Colorado regulators vote to increase just transition funding to coal communities contingent on associated coal plants actually closing — a provision complicated by Trump administration orders to keep some facilities running. (Colorado Sun)

• Montana advocates and regulators call for NorthWestern Energy to be more transparent about how it plans to use its newly acquired generating capacity at the Colstrip coal plant. (Montana Free Press)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Kern County, California’s planning commission is expected to vote next month on the proposed 2,000 MW Buttonbush solar-plus-storage project on water-constrained farmland. (Bakersfield Californian)

• BrightNight begins constructing its 300 MW Pioneer solar-plus-storage facility in southwest Arizona. (Solar Power World)

DATA CENTERS

• Arizona utility officials say Phoenix-area data center-driven energy demand is changing electricity use patterns, stifling decarbonization efforts, and threatening to overwhelm the grid. (Distilled)

• A New Mexico lawmaker introduces legislation that would give state utility regulators greater oversight of data centers’ on-site microgrids and require the facilities to comply with the Energy Transition Act. (Source NM)

• New York GreenCloud plans to convert an idled wood-burning power plant in California to a 41 MW biomass-syngas generator and biochar production facility that would power a proposed onsite data center. (Power)

• Montana advocates urge state lawmakers and regulators to clamp down on proposed new data centers’ water and energy use, saying the facilities should be operated ​“on our terms, not theirs.” (KTVQ)

• Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes accuses Tucson Electric Power of lying about tariff rates the proposed Project Blue data center near Tucson would pay the utility. (Arizona Republic)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Colorado lawmakers consider legislation that would require automakers to ensure that their EV batteries are safely recycled. (CPR)

TRANSITION

• New Mexico regulators schedule public forums on its first Comprehensive Energy Transition Strategy. (New Mexico Political Report)

CLIMATE

• Montana youth advocates ask a federal appeals court to reverse a lower court’s dismissal of their climate lawsuit alleging the Trump administration’s energy orders violate their constitutional rights. (Montana Free Press)

COMMENTARY

• A Nevada advocate accuses NV Energy of falsely claiming the Greenlink West transmission project would lead to fossil fuel plant closures, saying data center demand will lead to more natural gas generation. (Nevada Current)