“There is no [energy] transition without transmission – that’s my new mantra,” said Rob Gramlich, founder of Grid Strategies LLC, a power-sector consulting firm.
CLEAN ENERGY
Must Be Equitable
U.S. invests $315 million for clean energy access in rural & tribal communities. Financed by the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Department of Energy will distribute the funds to these communities to develop their own clean, affordable energy resources. Rural and tribal communities without reliable energy access can apply for federal cost-sharing funding up to $100 million for larger projects across communities. Nearly one in every six Americans lives in a rural or tribal community, which face disproportionately high energy bills and unreliability that poses obstacles to economic development. Eligible projects must include plans to ensure the benefits will be distributed equitably across affected communities. (Reuters)
CLEAN ENERGY
Has Many Benefits
Wind energy is reviving a fossil fuel boomtown. Former coal and oil town Wellsville, NY is experiencing an economic resurgence as a supplier for the state’s emerging offshore wind industry. Facilities that once supplied coal power plants are now producing wind turbines, with companies undergoing a hiring spree and reopening dormant plants. While the town had long been skeptical of the shift to clean energy, the economic growth sparked by the offshore wind boom is quickly changing perspectives. (Wall Street Journal $)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is A Good Investment
Major transmission lines are finally moving ahead. The slow development of transmission lines, backbone infrastructure needed to move electricity, has emerged as a major obstacle for the U.S. energy transition, but now several major transmission projects are finally moving forward. The SunZia line in the Southwest, the TransWest Express in the Mountain West, the Grain Belt Express in the Midwest, and the Champlain Hudson Power Express in New York represent more than $13 billion in investment, and are expected to move gigawatts of wind, solar, and hydropower to urban centers. While the projects will take years to build, their joint progress signals a growing consensus that transmission development is critical to making the grid cleaner and more reliable. (Bloomberg $)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Replacing Fossil Fuels
Clean energy hits over 40 percent of U.S. electricity. Zero-emissions power hit a new record last year, with 41 percent of the U.S. energy mix coming from non-fossil fuel resources, with much of the increase coming from wind and solar buildout. Clean energy has been growing steadily as a percentage of U.S. electricity since the 1990s, and has risen roughly 10 percent in the last decade. With renewable energy now cheaper than almost any other energy source, experts say the shift to clean energy is now “hard-wired” in the U.S. economy. This growth has come despite high inflation, supply chain constraints, and ongoing transmission interconnection backlogs, and appears poised to accelerate thanks to strong incentives in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. (USA Today)
EVs are booming in New York. Rates of EV ownership in the New York City area have more than doubled since 2020, including in moderate-income counties. The rapid growth comes as a wider variety of models have come on the market, more charging stations are being built, government incentives are making the upfront costs cheaper, and some EVs are reaching price parity with gas cars. Despite some concerns about range, availability, and cost, the EV market appears poised for even more growth in the coming years, backed by auto industry investments and state and federal support. (New York Times $)
Denver’s e-bike program is cutting car trips. The $4.7 million program launched last spring has helped nearly 5,000 Denverites buy e-bikes, with many reporting that they are replacing trips that would have otherwise been taken with gas-powered vehicles. The program offered up to $1,200 to purchase an e-bike — with more generous funds for income-qualified residents — and was so flooded with applications that the city plans to release more vouchers this year. Participants reported riding an average of 26 miles per week and replacing an average of 3.4 round-trip vehicle trips per week, reducing the city’s climate and air pollution. (Smart Cities Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Challenging
Clean energy factory jobs are going to anti-union states. President Biden pledged to accelerate the U.S. energy transition with industrial investments meant to create good-paying union jobs in clean energy industries, but much of the funding from the landmark Inflation Reduction Act is heading to states with laws hostile to unionization efforts. Roughly 83 percent of clean energy factories announced since the passage of the IRA are located in states with “right to work” laws. These laws force unions to cover workers who are not members and do not pay dues as part of their collective bargaining agreements, and lead to both lower unionization rates and lower wages. While wind and solar developers must pay prevailing wages and hire apprentices to capture the full value of IRA tax credits, companies building new battery or solar panel factories are not subject to the same standards. (Reuters)
MULTIMEDIA
Chart: Wind, solar, and batteries increasingly account for more new U.S. power capacity additions
