RENEWABLE ENERGY: Nevada officials expect the state to rebound from the coronavirus crisis and meet its new standard to source half its electricity from renewables by 2030. (KUNR)

CALIFORNIA:
• Critics are questioning whether PG&E will be able to rebuild its finances and make its power grid safer amid the coronavirus crisis. (Greentech Media)
• California regulators could still revoke PG&E’s operating license despite approving the utility’s bankruptcy plan. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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OVERSIGHT: Records show a senior Interior Department official with a previous ethics violation abused his position to get his son-in-law a job with the EPA. (Associated Press)

OIL & GAS:
• A University of Texas oil and gas methane study of the Permian Basin could lead to stronger monitoring by New Mexico regulators. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A lawsuit over Colorado’s methane regulations by a group of local governments could set a new precedent. (E&E News, subscription)
• Colorado oil and gas drilling rigs have decreased to six, the fewest in 28 years, because of increased regulation and financial difficulties. (Colorado Sun)

COAL: A Navajo Nation environmental activist running for New Mexico’s state senate is concerned about future coal mine and power plant closures and related site cleanup. (Farmington Daily Times)

SOLAR:
• The Department of Energy awards a $1.25 million grant to a solar company founded by a University of New Mexico professor to advance a technology that could add significant life to solar panels. (University of New Mexico Newsroom)
• A California school district’s newly-approved solar energy project is estimated to save around $5 million over 30 years. (Antelope Valley Press)

EFFICIENCY: A California winery reduces its carbon pollution by investing in efficiency and renewable energy. (Yale Climate Connections)

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WIND: A rural Colorado energy company is considering building a wind turbine assembly factory in a nearby community. (Glenwood Springs Post Independent)

COMMENTARY:
• A Nevada editorial board criticizes the Trump administration for selling Western public lands to oil and gas companies and giving royalty payment breaks on existing wells. (Las Vegas Sun)
• A Wyoming energy expert explains why the state should not open itself to the risk of idled or abandoned unbonded wells. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A former Alaska state senator explains why the state’s oil taxes should not be blamed for the decline of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. (Anchorage Daily News)

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).