Wyoming officials’ jobs claims fueled by oil industry group

OIL & GAS: Public records show a study cited by Wyoming officials projecting thousands of job losses from a suspension of drilling on public land was developed with help from an oil industry trade group. (Wyoming Public Media)

ALSO:
• A California county unanimously approves 40,500 new oil and gas wells, dismissing objections as ​“ridiculous” and ​“patronizing.” (Palm Springs Desert Sun)
• A new study by the University of Southern California and UCLA finds that more than a half million Americans living near oil and gas operations face potentially serious health risks from flaring events. (news release)

PIPELINES: A Montana county approves a permit for a Northwestern Energy natural gas pipeline to be located under the Gallatin River. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Nevada bill would require the state’s largest utility to spend $100 million over three years building out electric vehicle infrastructure. (Nevada Independent)
• An Oregon bill would allow utilities to pass costs for powering electric vehicle charging stations on to consumers. (Banks Post)
• California gas station owners worry about their livelihoods as the state transitions to electric vehicles. (KCRW)

POLITICS: A dozen states, including Montana, Arizona and Utah, sue President Biden over his executive order on climate change. (USA Today)

COAL:
• A Montana lawmaker introduces two bills to support the town of Colstrip as it faces closure of a nearby coal plant, but an opponent says they would prevent redevelopment of the site. (Daily Montanan)
• Wyoming lawmakers have proposed four bills aimed at making it harder to shut down coal plants. (WyoFile)

HYDROGEN: A Washington public utility begins construction on a $20 million renewable hydrogen production facility. (KLCC)

HYDROPOWER: The City of Seattle’s municipal power utility is accused of propping up ​“outdated” and ​“misleading” science about its hydropower operations at three Skagit River dams by tribal, federal, and state scientists. (KNG5)

SOLAR:
• Montana’s utilities regulator petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a state supreme court decision finding the regulator’s contract terms unfavorable to renewable energy providers. (Montana Free Press)
• New Mexico’s Land Commissioner approves four leases for solar projects on state trust land that will power water wells serving Las Cruces. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:
• The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has connected more than 700 homes to electric service using federal stimulus funds. (Navajo Times)
• Colorado Springs’ city council is set to hold a hearing and vote today on how its municipal utility ratepayers will cover the utility’s costs from buying high-priced gas to meet demand during recent extreme winter weather. (Complete Colorado)

COMMENTARY:
• A utility executive says Montana faces transmission constraints similar to Texas that put the state at risk of high prices and outages during extreme weather. (Independent Record)
• An Idaho city councilman says elected officials at all levels need to take a bipartisan approach to clean energy investments to reduce carbon emissions and boost the economy. (Post Register)