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OIL & GAS: After a winter slowdown, the Biden administration speeds up permitting for oil and gas drilling, issuing about 300 approvals per month since January. (E&E News)

ALSO: Hawaii officials say a leaky U.S. Navy fuel storage facility that was ordered to shut down after contaminating drinking water may not be drained until 2024 due to safety concerns. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

UTILITIES: • New Mexico hearing examiners recommend regulators reject the state’s largest utility’s plan to wait until 2024 to credit customers for savings realized from closing a coal plant this year. (Albuquerque Journal) • A California court finds state utility regulators’ lengthy requirements for those requesting information violate open records laws. (San Francisco Public Press) • Pacific Gas & Electric expands its instant power shutoff program to cover about five times more high wildfire risk areas than during last year. (Los Angeles Times)

HYDROGEN: Environmentalists protest New Mexico’s efforts to develop a blue hydrogen economy, saying it will result in more natural gas drilling. (Albuquerque Journal)

TRANSPORTATION: • Phoenix, Arizona, passes a transportation electrification plan calling for 280,000 electric vehicles in the city by 2030, even though EV batteries lose charge more quickly in extreme heat. (ABC15)   • An aviation company considers adding electric boat-airplane hybrids that are still under development to its Hawaii interisland passenger fleet. (Honolulu Civil Beat) • Toyota partners with a Nevada company to recycle Prius and other hybrid-electric vehicle batteries. (Forbes) • Democratic California lawmakers investigate high gasoline prices and allegations that oil companies are “ripping off” customers. (Los Angeles Times) 

ELECTRIFICATION: Colorado offers $10,000 to people who lost homes to two wildfires to rebuild high-efficiency homes with electric heating and cooking appliances. (The Gazette)

BIOFUELS: A lobbyist for a controversial tree-burning power plant in Hawaii hosted a fundraiser for lawmakers who sponsored a tax credit bill and a firm renewables mandate, both of which benefit the plant. (Honolulu Civil Beats) 

WIND: Colorado’s approval of Xcel Energy’s high-voltage transmission project sparks a wind power development boom on the state’s eastern plains. (Colorado Sun)

COAL: A Wyoming nonprofit opens an innovation center focused on developing non-fuel, low-carbon-emitting uses for coal and extracting rare earth elements from fly ash. (Mining)

HYDROPOWER: California officials expect the state’s largest hydropower-producing reservoir to continue generating through the summer even though it’s only half full due to drought. (Los Angeles Times)

CLIMATE: A Colorado startup works to develop “bio-cement,” which it says absorbs enough carbon to be 90% less carbon-intensive than traditional concrete. (CPR)

COMMENTARY: A Wyoming rancher says federal funds for cleaning up abandoned oil and gas facilities will help residents living near leaking wells, but also bails out companies that should pay for the work. (Casper Star-Tribune)

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Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.

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