Trump’s shaky challenge to California gas bans

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.

ELECTRIFICATION

• Experts say the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to block two California cities’ natural gas hookup bans in new construction is based on flimsy legal arguments. (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS

• The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes leasing more than 400,000 acres in south-central California for oil and gas drilling, including parcels in national and state parks, as part of the Trump administration’s bid to ​“unleash American energy.” (Courthouse News, news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on its proposal to auction 64 oil and gas leases on 29,058 acres in Montana and North Dakota in August. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A federal judge rules the Trump administration acted illegally when it canceled $7.6 billion in federal grants for clean energy projects in 16 Democratic-leaning states, including Colorado, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii. (Associated Press)

• Nevada regulators greenlight Comstock Metals’ proposed solar panel and photovoltaic recycling facility in Silver Springs, and the firm opens a California facility for collecting and shipping the panels. (Recycling Today, Resource Recycling)

• Ada County, Idaho’s commissioners greenlight a proposed 150 MW solar-plus-storage facility on federal, private, and state Correction Department land. (BoiseDev)

DATA CENTERS

• Data center firm Switch signs on to purchase 13 MW of power from Ormat’s Salt Wells geothermal facility near Fallon, Nevada. (Data Center Dynamics)

COAL

• Colorado Springs Utilities calls on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow it to continue running the Ray Nixon coal plant beyond the state-mandated 2029 closure. (Colorado Sun)

UTILITIES

• NV Energy refuses to fully pay back $65 million it overcharged Nevada customers since 2002, saying it will only provide refunds back to June 2017, the last month for which it has records. (Nevada Current)

• Colorado Springs Utilities rolls out a time-of-use electricity rate schedule to encourage conservation during peak demand hours. (CPR)

NUCLEAR

• The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an advocacy group’s bid to overturn federal regulators’ approval of Holtec International’s proposed interim spent nuclear reactor fuel depository in southeastern New Mexico. (Nuclear Newswire)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes allocating $200 million for an EV incentive program to help replace federal tax credits the Trump administration nixed last year. (Politico)

• BP Pulse prepares to open its medium- and heavy-duty electric truck charging hub in Ontario, California. (Clean Trucking)

CLIMATE

• Colorado gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen Michael Bennet, a Democrat, says he will launch a carbon market in the state if he is elected in November, calling it a ​“more efficient approach to emissions” than direct regulation. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY

• A former National Renewable Energy Laboratory employee mourns the Colorado institution’s demise after the Trump administration changed its name and mission. (Colorado Sun)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Illinois’ booming solar sector entices young job seekers — Kari Lydersen

• Cuts to mobile-home efficiency standards would hit Southeast hardest — Elizabeth Ouzts

• After a white town rejected a data center, developers eyed a Black area — Adam Mahoney

• Judge blocks Trump’s latest pause on a major offshore wind farm — Maria Gallucci and Dan McCarthy

• US carbon emissions rose in 2025 as coal produced more power — Julian Spector

• What a fracking-waste dispute says about Ohio’s energy double standard — Kathiann M. Kowalski