“The basics are the same,” said Miguel Febres, a petroleum engineer who worked in the oil industry for 19 years and is now a planner for wind and solar projects at Enel. “We install foundations, we install turbines, we build roads, we lay cables.”
CLEAN ENERGY
Must Be Equitable
White House environmental justice tool leaves many communities behind. While President Biden’s Justice40 initiative set out to direct 40 percent of federal climate and infrastructure spending to disadvantaged communities, advocates say the criteria for identifying “disadvantaged” communities could leave behind many of the people it intends to help. The White House’s screening tool originally did not consider race, even though it is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of environmental burdens. The tool has since been updated, but analysis from Grist shows that the screening methods still leave out many communities of color. (Grist)
CLEAN ENERGY
Has Many Benefits
Oil & gas workers find new careers in clean energy. The oil & gas industry has declined 20 percent over the last six years, losing 700,000 workers in the process — at a moment when clean energy industries are booming. Some of those workers are pivoting to renewable energy, citing the importance of fighting climate change and disillusionment with the fossil fuel industry. Clean energy industries also provide a more stable business cycle than the notoriously volatile oil & gas markets, and wages in clean energy sectors are rising. Many oil & gas workers have skills directly relevant to clean energy work, making for a smooth transition. (New York Times $)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is A Good Investment
Solar panel recycling is heating up. Roughly 90 percent of solar panels in the U.S. have lost efficiency due to age, and a new industry is emerging to ensure they don’t go to waste. While panels dumped in landfills can leach toxic chemicals, old solar panels can also be refurbished or recycled to recoup valuable materials like silver, silicon, aluminum, and copper. Those raw materials could be worth nearly half a billion dollars by 2030 or $15 billion by 2050, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. While today there are just five companies that recycle solar panels in the U.S., four states are advancing laws to promote solar panel recycling and analysts expect the industry to grow as more solar panels are decommissioned. (Yale Environment 360)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Replacing Fossil Fuels
Battery storage is booming. Grid-scale battery storage has doubled in just three years globally, and the world is expected to deploy more than 350 gigawatts (GW) of battery storage capacity by 2030. Last year the U.S. installed 4GW of battery storage, nearly as much as the 4.7GW that had been installed in all previous years combined. While current projections still fall short of what is needed to meet net-zero targets, the grid-scale battery boom is expected to accelerate even more once raw material prices stabilize. (Energy Monitor)
California plans to add 85GW of clean energy by 2035. The California Public Utilities Commission has upped its renewable energy target to 85GW of new resources by 2035 — more than double the state’s current capacity of 75GW. The plan includes targets for new solar, wind, battery, geothermal, and long-duration storage resources as part of the state’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. The ambitious plan will have to overcome a number of challenges, including supply shortages, rising commodity prices, transmission construction timelines, and maintaining grid reliability as fossil fuel energy assets are decommissioned. Advocates praised the scope of the targets, but emphasized that smart decisions about deployment and siting will be needed. (Canary Media)
Texas was a top state for wind and solar last year. While the Lone Star State has historically been known for its oil & gas industry, it is rapidly becoming a national hub for clean energy. The U.S. had major growth in wind and solar last year, especially in red states, and Texas led the nation with nearly 153GW of combined wind and solar production — more than half the country’s 238GW of wind and solar resources, which is enough to power 64 million American households. Experts say this growth is important for the U.S. energy transition, but cautioned that this growth must be accompanied by more transmission lines to support the grid. (Gizmodo)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Challenging
Clean energy projects are sitting idle, waiting for grid interconnection. Across the country, the volume of new clean energy projects has rapidly outpaced grid interconnection systems, leaving many projects stranded or canceled due to delays. More than 8,100 mostly renewable energy projects were stuck in approval and interconnection queues at the end of 2021, up from 5,600 the year before, and some utilities are now freezing new applications until they can clear the backlog. With fewer than one-fifth of wind and solar proposals making it through the interconnection process, advocates have pleaded for new transmission expansions and upgrades to bring these projects online, though experts say the current system for financing transmission is full of obstacles. (New York Times $)
MULTIMEDIA
Chart: How the range of electric cars has changed over time
