BUILDINGS: The U.S. Energy Department announces $240 million to help state and local governments adopt more efficient building codes. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Oakland, California’s school district is the first major district in the U.S. to fully adopt electric school buses, which can send power back to the grid during high demand. (Grist)

SOLAR:

• The Biden administration finalizes its Western solar plan aimed at expediting development on 31 million acres of federal land in 11 states. (Reuters)
• A startup says its technology can help solve a key challenge preventing solar at multi-family projects by sending energy from a single system with one inverter to individual housing units. (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY: Along with the addition of 15 GW of solar, battery and wind over the last year, Texas added 6.6% more clean energy jobs to rank second in the U.S. after Idaho. (Houston Chronicle)

GRID: 

• The North American Electric Reliability Corp. drafts an analysis of power transfer capacity between regional transmission areas. (Utility Dive)
• A network of smart energy devices in New England helped shave hundreds of megawatts off peak demand on a single day this summer, highlighting the usefulness of virtual power plants. (WBUR)

POLITICS: Maryland’s election for a U.S. Senate seat could make or break federal climate action by stripping Democrats of their current majority. (Inside Climate News)

OVERSIGHT: Texas prepares to launch a new set of business courts overseen by a panel of judges who have previously represented oil and gas companies, raising questions about whether the new courts lean too far toward fossil fuel favoritism. (The Lever)

COMMENTARY: A columnist details how increasingly cheap and widely available solar power will make once-far-fetched applications possible. (New York Times)

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In central Ohio, a fight has been going on for more than a year between developers of a solar project and a so-called “grassroots” group that doesn’t want it built.

Knox Smart Development popped up late last year to fight the 120 MW Frasier Solar project, holding a town hall and otherwise campaigning to stir up opposition to the project. Kathiann Kowalski reported for the Energy News Network that the group has appeared at three public hearings in front of Ohio’s energy project siting board, and made more than 100 unique arguments against approving the project.

The problem? Half of those comments contained misinformation, and “do not present credible or compelling opposition to the proposed project,” said Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, a professor at Cleveland State University College of Law.

Last week, Knox Smart Development founder Jared Yost hinted at where some of Knox Smart Development’s support and misinformation may be coming from.

In a hearing with the energy siting board, Yost testified that Tom Rastin, the former head of oil and gas compressor company Ariel Corportation, is one of the group’s biggest donors. Rastin also reportedly leads The Empowerment Alliance, a dark money nonprofit that advocates for the natural gas industry. Another Empowerment Alliance leader spoke at one of Knox Smart Development’s town halls last year. 

Yost denied that The Empowerment Alliance influenced his opposition to the Frasier project, but clean energy advocates say Knox Smart Development is just another example of how fossil fuel interests are disguising themselves behind community-led groups to make their fights against clean energy feel organic and credible.

Read more about how misinformation is fueling this unfolding solar fight at the Energy News Network.

More clean energy news

👷 Unions’ clean energy: The Inflation Reduction Act’s labor standards for clean energy development could create as many as 3.9 million jobs across 6,285 burgeoning projects, a labor advocacy group says. (Utility Dive)

🔌 Virtual (power plant) reality: Xcel Energy in Minnesota wants to build virtual power plants that combine solar power generation and energy storage — a technology analysts say is “well past pilot scale” and ready for full deployment in North America. (Energy News Network, Utility Dive)

⚠️ Cautionary tale: State policies could supercharge utility-scale clean energy deployment, but experts say too rapid of an expansion could strengthen opposition, and that local participation in the siting process is still key. (Utility Dive)

🚘 EVs’ new charge: Experts say solid state batteries have the potential to transform the auto sector by giving electric vehicles hundreds of miles more of range per charge. (Inside Climate News)

🔋 Managing the load: Cleantech experts say home power management systems are set to become essential as homeowners switch to electric appliances and vehicles, as well as add at-home power generation. (Bloomberg)

🚍 Going for sustainability gold: A sustainability advocate says Los Angeles will need an “epic transportation reboot” to achieve a zero-emission Olympic Games in 2028. (Los Angeles Times)

🇺🇸 Plus, some politics:

• Conservatives for clean energy: A national advocacy group founded in 2016 aims to make the conservative case that clean energy will win in free market competition and support private property rights. (USA Today)
• Keeping climate quiet: Observers say Vice President Kamala Harris is seemingly making a “deliberate choice” to minimally mention climate as she tries to downplay divisive issues in her campaign, though allies say it’s still clear where she stands on the topic. (Washington Post, New York Times)
• Learning from Minnesota: U.S. climate advocates say Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s measured and bureaucratic approach to clean energy programs, and success in attracting federal funding, will lead to policy gains at the federal level. (E&E News)

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The misinformation at the heart of rural solar opposition is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

SOLAR: 

• California’s public advocacy agency recommends applying new net-metering rules to existing rooftop solar, saying slashing compensation would reduce cost-shifting to non-solar customers. (PV Magazine)
• A developer secures $550 million in financing and breaks ground on its 140 MW Rosamond South solar-plus-storage project in Kern County, California. (Solar Power World)
• Washington state regulators approve a decommissioning plan for a solar facility under development in the southern part of the state. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Energy Department awards Arizona $1.7 million to fund commercial sector energy efficiency projects aimed at benefiting low-income and disadvantaged communities. (Solar Quarter)

STORAGE: A California startup raises $2 million to further develop a thermal energy storage system for industrial applications that uses bricks to convert electricity into heat. (Canary Media) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• The Biden administration awards California, Oregon and Washington $102.4 million to fund a zero-emissions truck charging and fueling corridor along the West Coast. (RTO Insider, subscription) 
• A California startup begins selling its DC-to-DC electric vehicle fast charger, saying it reduces energy loss and allows for direct link to solar panels. (Green Car Reports)

ELECTRIFICATION: An Alaska city begins offering residents up to $500 to replace oil-based heating systems with electric heat pumps. (KTOO) 

COAL: Data show 10 coal-fired generating units provide about one-third of Colorado’s power, but the facilities all are slated to close by 2031. (Colorado Sun)

OIL & GAS: 

• Alaska petroleum firms ask the state for additional subsidies and royalty relief before drilling for natural gas in the Cook Inlet to mitigate a looming regional fuel shortage. (Northern Journal)
• Data show two New Mexico counties in the Permian Basin have surpassed their Texas counterparts in oil production by churning out more than one million barrels per day. (Bloomberg)

UTILITIES: Utah lawmakers raise concerns about the state’s largest utility’s proposed 36% rate hike. (Deseret News)

CLIMATE: A study finds an increase in heat-related deaths between 2018 and 2023, with the vast majority of fatalities occurring in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. (Los Angeles Times)

COMMENTARY: California energy analysts find undergrounding power lines is necessary to mitigate wildfire hazard in some areas, but urge utilities to use more cost-effective methods when possible. (Energy Institute at Haas)

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GEOTHERMAL: 

• Facebook parent company Meta strikes a deal with a geothermal startup to develop up to 150 MW of generation to power its data centers. (New York Times)
• Houston startups say they’ve created a geothermal energy storage system that uses fracking-like technology to store pressurized water deep in the ground, then release it to power a turbine. (Inside Climate News)

OIL & GAS: Northeast states are leading the way in pursuing compensation from oil companies for economic damages from climate change. (Stateline)

GRID: 

• Regional transmission experts say the buildup of energy-intensive data centers poses an “emerging risk” to grid reliability in the West. (OPB)
• Texas’ grid operator sees an unofficial record for power demand but experts say it seems more stable than last year due to the addition of wind, solar, battery storage and a small amount of gas. (Houston Chronicle)
• Federal data shows electricity generation from fossil fuels spiked during heat waves in New England this summer, with natural gas providing 61% of capacity on June 22. (Energy Information Administration)
• Southwest Power Pool seeks federal approval to delay its interconnection queue study process and to stop accepting new projects amid a growing number of connection and withdrawal requests. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:

• The leader of a “grassroots” anti-solar energy group admits to Ohio regulators that a well-connected natural gas executive is among its largest financial supporters. (Energy News Network)
• A developer secures $550 million in financing and breaks ground on its 140 MW Rosamond South solar-plus-storage project in Kern County, California. (Solar Power World)

CLIMATE: A study finds an increase in heat-related deaths between 2018 and 2023, with the vast majority of fatalities occurring in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. (Los Angeles Times)

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GRID:

• Cleantech experts say home power management systems are set to become essential as homeowners switch to electric appliances and vehicles, as well as add at-home power generation. (Bloomberg)
• A U.S. Energy Department advisory board proposes establishing a data center to study how AI affects power demand. (Axios)

WIND:

• Anti-wind protesters claim without evidence that the broken Vineyard turbine blade added to “the plight of the right whale,” an endangered species most at risk from vessel strikes and climate change. (Nantucket Current, Energy News Network archive)
• A Maine agency will study the viability of small-scale wind turbines, which could help supplement low production from solar panels in winter. (Portland Press Herald)
• Oregon researchers aim to reduce wind facility-related bird fatalities by painting turbine blades black. (OPB)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Kentucky has attracted more than $11.5 billion in electric vehicle-related investments since 2020, but lagging vehicle sales and a partisan split over the industry create uncertainty about its future. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

COAL:

• The operators of the Colstrip coal plant in Montana urge the U.S. Supreme Court to block implementation of new U.S. EPA emissions standards, saying the cost of complying with the rule would force the facility’s closure. (Montana Free Press)
• New Mexico advocates hail the demolition of the shuttered San Juan coal plant’s smokestacks as a symbol of the energy transition while the facility’s former workers mourn lost jobs. (NM Political Report, Tri-City Record)

PIPELINES: Tribal leaders in northern Wisconsin continue their fight to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the “Everglades of the North,” where they fear a spill would decimate areas for wild rice and fishing. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR: A Swiss firm cancels plans to establish a solar cell manufacturing plant in Colorado, saying market distortions have rendered the project financially unviable. (Reuters)

EMISSIONS: North Carolina’s ratepayer advocate, Walmart, and other critics of Duke Energy’s initial decarbonization plan relent and endorse a settlement that includes construction of 9 GW of new natural gas plants and more solar. (Energy News Network)

COMMENTARY: A Harris campaign adviser calls for a “Clean Energy Marshall Plan” that would finance foreign investments in renewables and the creation of international clean energy supply chains and trade agreements. (Foreign Affairs)

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