Dan Haugen, Author at Energy News Network

California ratepayer advocate sounds alarm on solar subsidies

Dan Haugen — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

SOLAR: An analysis by California’s ratepayer advocate says the state’s residential rooftop solar subsidy will cost non-solar customers about $8.5 billion annually. (Reuters)

ALSO:

More than 100 people attend a tense meeting over a proposed solar and storage project near Santa Fe that’s been delayed by opposition. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
Clark County, Nevada, installs a dozen solar-powered streetlights as part of a pilot program to see if it can reduce copper wire theft. (FOX 5 Vegas)
A solar array at a southern Washington industrial park is recognized by the state with an award for exceptional land use planning and development. (Post-Record)

STORAGE:

More frequent power outages are driving demand for residential battery systems, including “solar generators” that provide clean backup power. (Associated Press)
A suburban San Diego city council approves a 300 megawatt battery facility to store solar and wind power for when it’s most needed. (Union Tribune)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California legislation to establish an Inland Empire “electric vehicle opportunity zone” would fund training and education programs and also offer business loans, tax credits and grants to manufacturers in Riverside County. (CalMatters)

WIND:

New Mexico is emerging as a wind energy powerhouse, trailing only Wyoming in new capacity this year, as state officials approve two new leases that could add another 550 megawatts. (Renewable Energy World, Albuquerque Business Journal)
California regulators unanimously approve a plan for the state to purchase up to 7.6 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2037. (E&E News, subscription)

GEOTHERMAL: A proposed geothermal project in Colorado encounters opposition from nearby residents who have told the developer “we don’t care about the science; we simply don’t want it in our backyard.” (CBS News)

UTILITIES: A Wyoming utility schedules a series of meetings amid customer frustration over skyrocketing bills, which the company has attributed to increasing costs related to fossil fuels and investments in renewable energy. (WyoFile)

COAL: A $5 billion merger between two of the nation’s largest coal mining companies could accelerate divestment from thermal coal in Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)

OIL & GAS:

Washington farmers are paying more for fuel under the state’s carbon cap-and-invest law, and critics say the state has failed to provide education on the “Kafkaesque” system meant to offset those increases. (Crosscut)
An Iranian hacker group this spring attempted to breach multiple Utah government sites, including state data related to oil and gas. (NBC News)

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

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California ratepayer advocate sounds alarm on solar subsidies 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.

Minnesota seeks ombudsperson to ease interconnection process

Dan Haugen — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:57:06 +0000

SOLAR: Minnesota solar developers hope that a newly created interconnection ombudsperson role will help ease frustrations and delays related to connecting projects to utilities’ power grids. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: South Dakota’s largest solar farm, a 128 MW project east of Rapid City, comes online after a year of construction. (Dakota Scout)

STORAGE:

A former coal-fired power plant south of Detroit is set to become the largest stand-alone energy storage site in the Great Lakes region. (Fast Company)
Critics say battery storage fire safety legislation awaiting the governor’s signature in Illinois could burden small businesses by requiring them to register as automotive parts recyclers in order to store used batteries. (The Center Square)

BUILDINGS: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs legislation prohibiting homeowner associations from blocking clean energy-related improvements, including solar panels, heat pumps, and vehicle charging equipment. (MLive)

OIL & GAS: The U.S. Justice Department proposes changes to its consent decree with Enbridge over the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill that could require the company to repair previously identified cracks in its Midwest pipeline system. (Detroit News)

PIPELINES:

An aviation biofuels company contributed $167,000 to a South Dakota political committee defending the state’s new carbon pipeline law against a potential ballot referendum. (South Dakota Searchlight)
Iowa regulators approve a public meeting schedule to consider the proposed expansion of Summit Carbon Solutions’ planned carbon dioxide pipeline to connect it to ethanol plants in the state. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

Consumers Energy announces plans to help build 1,500 public fast chargers by 2030, part of an effort by Michigan utilities to build up the state’s electric vehicle charging network. (Bridge Michigan)
Nearly two years after Nebraska received more than $30 million in federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations, none of the money has been disbursed. (Nebraska Public Media)

CLEAN ENERGY: A forthcoming paper in a Minnesota law journal proposes that clean energy developers should prioritize projects on marginal land such as retired mines, closed landfills, and brownfields, to avoid public opposition. (Heatmap)

HYDROPOWER: A Minnesota hydropower dam will double its generating capacity after a $48 million renovation project by a county and Xcel Energy. (Pioneer Press)

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Minnesota seeks ombudsperson to ease interconnection process 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.

Federal money helping to repurpose Virginia coal sites

Dan Haugen — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 12:14:33 +0000

Southeast Energy News is taking a break for the Fourth of July. We’ll be back Monday, July 8.

COAL: Unprecedented federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping Southwest Virginia diversify its economy through redevelopment of abandoned mine land sites. (Virginia Mercury)

CLIMATE: Austin, Texas’ city council considers asking voters to approve a climate bond to help pay for projects related to the city’s climate goals, but the mayor wants to delay the process until 2026. (KXAN)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Rivian reports that it sold more electric vehicles than it manufactured in the last quarter, during which the company also reiterated its plans to build a factory in Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

SOLAR:

A solar developer withdraws its application to build a large solar farm and says it will come back with a smaller proposal after a Virginia county planning commission denied a permit. (Cardinal News)
The developers of a planned Alabama solar farm hold an open house to answer questions for local residents, not all of whom are happy about the project. (Moulton Advertiser)

OIL & GAS: Texas oil and gas regulators ask the state’s attorney general to sue the U.S. EPA over its decision to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES: Entergy New Orleans promotes a new vice president of regulatory and public affairs who will lead the company’s engagement with the New Orleans City Council. (news release)

POLITICS: Florida Congressmember Anna Paulina Luna has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into a political donor’s oil and gas company. (Tampa Bay Times)

COMMENTARY:

Move over Michigan: Georgia is “quietly but confidently emerging as the undisputed national leader in the electrifying auto sector,” writes a clean transportation advocate. (Georgia Recorder)
As North Carolina’s electric vehicle industry takes off, the oil industry is airing misleading ads to stoke fear about the opportunities EVs offer the state, writes an environmental advocate. (WRAL)

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Federal money helping to repurpose Virginia coal sites 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.

Judge sinks Biden’s LNG permitting pause

Dan Haugen — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 12:12:10 +0000

OIL & GAS: A federal judge halts the Biden administration’s pause on new liquified natural gas export approvals, siding with industry and 16 Republican-led states that had challenged the freeze. (E&E News)

ALSO: Permian Basin truck drivers block entrances to frac sand mines as they demand better pay and working conditions, marking a first-ever organized labor movement in the nation’s busiest oil field. (Texas Tribune)

UTILITIES: Georgia Power faces pressure as large customers and local governments demand a faster transition to clean energy to meet their own targets. (WABE)

SOLAR: New Virginia laws will expand a Dominion Energy shared solar program and establish a new program for Appalachian Power customers. (VPM)

OVERSIGHT: Kentucky’s top utility regulator resigns as his term expires, with Gov. Andy Beshear expected to appoint a replacement soon. (Kentucky Lantern)

GRID: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announces plans to double a new state fund that offers low-interest loans to help develop new gas-fired power plants. (Texas Tribune)

WIND: About 140 people pack a Texas county commission meeting to oppose a proposed wind farm project west of Houston. (Fayette County Record)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces $11.2 million in federal grants to install electric vehicle charging stations at 14 locations in the state. (WSFA)

CLIMATE:

The Biden administration announces $19.2 million in funding for a South Florida climate tech hub that will research low-carbon concrete and other products to help make coastlines more resilient to rising seas. (Miami Herald)
A recent study by Oklahoma researchers finds climate change is likely to intensify hazard risk and social injustice for Native Americans. (ICT)

POLITICS: The federal climate money pouring into Georgia under President Biden has created awkward political dynamics for Republicans, who opposed the funding but have also touted its economic impact on rural towns. (BBC)

COMMENTARY: North Carolina regulators should force Duke Energy to rethink and modify its Carbon Plan proposal to include a cleaner, more predictable and affordable mix of power sources, writes an advisory board member with the Environmental Defense Fund. (Energy News Network)

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Judge sinks Biden’s LNG permitting pause 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.

Virginia governor’s power grab derails state climate progress

Dan Haugen — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:30:11 +0000

POLICY: Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has unilaterally disregarded multiple state climate laws passed by the Democratically controlled legislature, creating a legal crisis that could delay implementation for years. (E&E News)

OFFSHORE WIND:

The federal government announces an offshore wind energy lease sale that will include areas off the coast of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. (WRDE)
A giant ship being built in Brownsville, Texas, is expected to boost the country’s capacity to build offshore wind farms when it’s completed next year, though a second Trump presidency could imperil future projects. (NBC News)

CLIMATE:

Stronger storms and sea-level rise are accelerating erosion that has caused six beachfront homes in four years to collapse along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. (WTVD)
A study finds that heat waves in Richmond, Virginia, disproportionately affect low-income, Black residents, who often live in urban heat islands and also lack convenient access to cooling centers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
A new Virginia law taking effect today bans utilities from shutting off electricity for nonpayment if temperatures reach 92 degrees or more. (WWBT)

UTILITIES: At least 60 neighbors have emailed North Carolina regulators to oppose Duke Energy’s plans to build two natural gas turbines on the site of an existing coal-fired power plant. (News & Observer)

EFFICIENCY:

North Carolina lawmakers advance legislation that would establish a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program in the state. (WRAL)
A new Florida law lets homeowners finance energy saving and resilience improvements through their property tax assessments. (Florida Politics)

GRID: An Austin energy consultant discusses the state of Texas’ power grid, including how solar is helping it meet summertime demand. (Texas Observer)

SOLAR:

A nonprofit group’s new solar training program in Georgetown, South Carolina, is paying students to learn how to install solar infrastructure. (WMBF)
A dozen New Orleans churches have established solar-powered resilience hubs where residents can come during power outages and disasters. (WVUE)
A West Virginia county commission takes no action on a solar project’s proposed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement after hearing local opposition. (Journal)

COAL: Virginia’s efforts to clean up abandoned mine lands have been supercharged by federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Virginia Mercury)

CO2 STORAGE: As Texas opens more offshore areas for carbon sequestration projects, experts foresee the Gulf Coast becoming a global hub for underground disposal of greenhouse gases. (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES: Virginia organizers mark the fourth anniversary of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s cancellation with a celebration and book release about the pipeline fight. (Daily Progress)

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Virginia governor’s power grab derails state climate progress 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.