Summary

Quote of the Week:

“Local governments are really pushing their clean energy goals,” said Matthew Popkin, an urban transformation manager at clean energy think tank RMI. “And sure, you can put 200 kilowatts on your city hall. You can put it on a couple of facilities, buildings, or fire stations. But when you start to look at municipally owned land that is in your control and that is able to host a large project, suddenly a brownfield or a closed landfill looks very attractive because it can’t be used for… housing, mixed-use apartments, or the next Walmart or Target superstore.”

CLEAN ENERGY

Must Be Equitable

Startup boosts rooftop solar in the states with the dirtiest electric grids. A new startup is offering grants to low-income homeowners in states with the most-polluting grids to install rooftop solar. Modeled on carbon offset markets, the installations are financed by subscribers who want to fight climate change or offset their own pollution. The company estimates that installing a rooftop system in Missouri, which still gets most of its electricity from coal, reduces climate pollution as much as planting and growing 2,000 trees for 10 years. (Fast Company)

CLEAN ENERGY

Has Many Benefits

From landfills to solar farms. Across the U.S., solar energy developers are turning to brownfield sites like landfills to host clean energy projects. 21 such projects produced 207 megawatts of clean energy last year — a tenfold increase from previous years. One analysis suggests the closed landfills in the U.S. could accommodate more than 60 gigawatts of solar capacity, enough to power South Carolina. While landfills face unique redevelopment challenges, state and federal support can help scale up and accelerate the transition from brownfields to “brightfields.” (TIME)

CLEAN ENERGY

Is Replacing Fossil Fuels

Sales of gas-powered cars peaked in 2017 and are expected to permanently decline. New analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds electric car sales are expected to triple by 2025 as automakers put gas-powered vehicles in the rear view mirror, CNN reports. But the shift to clean transportation must go beyond electric cars, writes Bloomberg. Achieving clean transportation systems requires governments to reduce car dependency by promoting public transit, active transportation like walking and biking, and other types of electric vehicles like two- and three-wheelers. (CNN, Bloomberg $)

CLEAN ENERGY

Is A Good Investment

Electric vehicles are better for business. New analysis finds automakers could boost their market value by €800 billion if they made more electric cars. The electric divisions of Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Volvo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are forecast to become more profitable than their traditional gas counterparts within the next three to five years as policy accelerates the shift to electric transportation. (The Guardian)

Ford invests billions in EV production. Ford announced a $3.7 billion investment expected to create 6,200 new union jobs in facilities across the Midwest. The facilities will expand production of Ford’s electric vehicle offerings and promise to improve working conditions. Ford expects it will be able to produce 2 million electric vehicles per year worldwide by 2026. An analysis of 2020 data suggests that every job created by an automaker creates another 11 jobs in other industries. (Detroit Free Press)

Biden moves to boost domestic clean energy. The Biden administration is using the Defense Production Act to boost domestic solar panel production by extending a tariff exemption for solar imports from four supplier countries by 24 months and authorizing the Energy Department to purchase more clean energy. The move is expected to shore up U.S. clean energy supply chains as a Commerce Department probe hangs over the industry, NBC News reports. The administration will also provide a 50 percent discount to developers building wind and solar projects on public lands to incentivize faster clean energy deployment, writes the New York Times. (NBC News, New York Times $)

CLEAN ENERGY

Is Challenging

Politics are a key obstacle to solar and wind development. As clean energy development grows, proposed projects are facing rising pushback from local communities. In rural Iowa, local landowners have voiced concerns that solar projects will mar the natural landscape (and their property values) and take farmland out of production. While developers and local governments have sought to address these concerns, which can be based on misinformation, it has been difficult to get community buy-in for some solar and wind developments as clean energy is becoming more politicized across the U.S. (The Gazette)

MULTIMEDIA

Charts: BloombergNEF Electric Vehicle Outlook 2022