Indigenous and environmental advocates raise concerns over mining impacts as clean energy initiatives gain momentum in the West.

Indigenous and environmental advocates are concerned that a rush to mine so-called green metals, used in electric vehicles, batteries and other clean energy technology, could stress water supplies in the arid West. Alaska Native tribal leaders have pushed back against a proposal to mine the nation’s largest known graphite deposit on the Seward Peninsula, saying it would harm the environment and subsistence harvests. Colorado regulators say a surge in new abandoned oil and gas wells in the state stem from small operators shutting down or leaving the area and the discovery of old unplugged sites. California clean energy officials say a recently passed state bill establishing a central power purchaser will kick-start the state’s nascent offshore wind industry. Oregon environmental advocates propose constructing an 11.8 MW solar array at a shuttered and contaminated wood treatment plant in Eugene, Oregon, and the U.S. Transportation Department awards more than $200 million to California’s solar-powered high-speed rail project currently under construction. Four California counties exceeded 30% electric vehicle penetration by the end of last year, the nation’s only counties to do so.