Wyoming, seeking to save coal, finds few easy answers

COAL: In a Wyoming legislative session focused largely on propping up the state’s coal industry, there has been ​“lots of talk and honestly not a whole lot to show for it,” according to one observer. (WyoFile)

ALSO: Officials in a Colorado county facing a coal plant closure say their top priority is to revive the site with another form of power generation. (Craig Daily Press)

GRID: Nevada’s largest utility has plans for more clean energy and storage, but is banking on natural gas for short-term reliability — a plan facing pushback from advocates and at least one major customer. (Nevada Independent)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• California regulators update a 2021 clean energy procurement order to require 4,000 MW of additional clean energy capacity by 2027, in response to a forecast showing demand increasing faster than anticipated. (Courthouse News Service)
• A bipartisan Oregon bill would create a ​“one-stop shop” to help citizens take advantage of new incentives under the federal Inflation Reduction Act. (Portland Business Journal, subscription)
• A New Mexico bill would make the state’s Office of Renewable Energy a permanent entity. (Carlsbad Current Argus)

WIND: The Biden Administration plans a 20-month study to explore floating wind farms off the West Coast, where deep water makes conventional wind turbines prohibitive to build. (E&E News)

SOLAR:
• Wyoming lawmakers reject a bill that would have created a $1 per MWh tax on commercial solar, similar to one recently imposed on wind farms. (Casper Star Tribune)
• Federal data shows California still leads the country in utility-scale solar, but Texas is quickly catching up. (Canary Media)

HYDROPOWER:
• Western hydropower production increased 13% in 2022 thanks to increased precipitation, after falling to a 20-year low in 2021. (KUOW)
• New Mexico lawmakers are warned the state must prepare for prolonged low water levels on Utah’s Lake Powell, which supplies hydropower to the state. (NM Political Report)

UTILITIES: A bill in New Mexico to allow local governments to procure their own energy sources has drawn heated debate, but examples from other states can offer some clarity. (Albuquerque Journal)

POLICY: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announces a new task force to develop a state energy plan that will ​“reduce Alaska’s vulnerability to fluctuating energy markets.” (Alaska Beacon)

CLIMATE: Extreme heat poses new threats to the Northwest’s forests that researchers are still working to understand. (High Country News)

COMMENTARY:
• Advocates say New Mexico’s new rules on natural gas venting and flaring aren’t working as intended due to a lack of enforcement staff and other loopholes. (Earthworks)
• Saying ​“fighting the feds is in our DNA,” Idaho’s governor says the Bureau of Land Management will need to build local community support for a planned wind farm in the southern part of the state. (news release)