Western blue states sue to block Trump wind pause

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

• Six Democrat-led Western states join onto a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration’s pause on new wind energy project approvals. (Landmark)

• The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado lays off 114 employees, saying it’s part of an effort to shift resources to ​“critical priorities.” (CPR)

• Alaska officials and residents worry Republican lawmakers’ plans to slash clean energy tax credits would stymie remote villages’ efforts to cut power costs by installing solar arrays and other distributed generation. (New York Times)

• California lawmakers advance legislation that would slash net-metering compensation for existing rooftop solar if the host home is sold. (PV Magazine)

• Cypress Creek Renewables begins construction on its 104 MW Ostrea solar project in southern Washington. (Renewables Now)

• Renewable Properties breaks ground on three community solar-plus-storage projects in northern California. (Solar Power World)

OVERSIGHT

• Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, signs into law legislation that weakens the state’s Environmental Policy Act and curtails agencies’ authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. (Montana Free Press)

TRANSPORTATION

• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signs an agreement with Union Pacific clearing the way to resume passenger rail service between Denver and communities in the northwestern part of the state. (Colorado Sun)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Colorado residents and advocates step up opposition to a proposed 166-well oil and gas drilling project near a suburban Denver neighborhood. (Greeley Tribune)

• A report finds Utah’s Uinta Basin produced record-high levels of oil last year, and the industry says a contested proposed rail line would further boost output. (Salt Lake Tribune)

• A Wyoming economist predicts the Trump administration’s tariff-induced economic uncertainty will hurt the state’s oil and gas industry by depressing commodity prices and increasing material costs. (WyoFile)

• The Trump administration considers selling oil and gas leases in the Arctic Ocean more than 200 miles offshore, but experts say the industry may not be interested due to resource and legal uncertainty. (Alaska Beacon)

GRID

• SunRun’s CalReady residential battery-based virtual power plant program expands to aggregate power from 56,000 rooftop solar-plus-storage customers. (T&D World)

UTILITIES

• The Trump administration releases the remaining $1.4 million allocated to Nevada’s low-income utility bill assistance program. (Nevada Current)

NUCLEAR

• Washington state regulators fine Energy Northwest $4,000 over a 2023 lubricating-oil spill at its Columbia nuclear generating station near Richland. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

NEW FROM CANARY

• The Midwest grid operator’s plans to allow gas power plants to cut the line could make the region’s power problems worse, Jeff St. John reports.

• Legislation is advancing that would let Duke Energy collect money from ratepayers for power plants not yet completed, Elizabeth Ouzts reports.

• Dominion Energy’s massive offshore wind project is proceeding as planned despite the Trump administration’s attacks on the industry, Clare Fieseler reports.