Summary

Quote of the Week:

“Calling someone an ‘EV installer’ means you want somebody with minimal skills so you can pay them less,” said Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA). “Nobody calls a worker a ‘bridge installer.’ It’s not a thing. Because skilled workers are needed across the industry.”

CLEAN ENERGY

Must Be Equitable

Clean energy policy could leave workers behind. The Inflation Reduction Act and other historic climate and clean energy bills recently signed into law include massive investments to develop domestic manufacturing and are expected to create millions of jobs. Despite strong pro-union rhetoric from President Biden and the Democrats, the policy language includes few pro-union provisions, leading clean energy companies to list non-union jobs without the benefits and security that unions provide for workers. Some in the labor movement are trying to organize these emerging clean energy sectors with mixed records of success. Advocates and labor leaders contend this is a huge missed opportunity to ensure that nationally-important emerging clean energy sectors actually produce good American jobs. (The American Prospect)

CLEAN ENERGY

Is Affordable

U.S. solar power is one-third cheaper than gas. Utility-scale solar is one-third cheaper than methane gas-powered energy, and land-based wind power is 44 percent cheaper than gas, according to a new report by analysts at Guggenheim Securities. While global gas prices have skyrocketed due to market volatility triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine, recent U.S. climate legislation has simultaneously helped reduce the costs of renewable energy. The analysts write that solar and wind could now have a deflationary effect on electricity costs. (Bloomberg $)

CLEAN ENERGY

Has Many Benefits

Solar-powered community endures Hurricane Ian without losing power. Babcock Ranch, a community just outside of Fort Myers, FL, bills itself as the country’s first solar-powered town. When Hurricane Ian struck and 90 percent of households in the county lost power, Babcock Ranch’s lights stayed on. Thanks to strong resiliency planning, including native landscaping to control storm water and buried power and internet lines, the community did not suffer major damage. Now, the neighborhood is even providing refuge for some of the state’s hardest-hit victims. (CNN)

Hurricane survivors, legislators turn to EVs to keep the lights on. U.S. Senator Angus King introduced a new bill that would leverage the battery power of electric school buses to improve community energy stability. Electrek reports that the BIDIRECTIONAL Act would accelerate the adoption of electric school buses and the deployment of “vehicle-to-grid (V2G)” technologies, which allow EVs to feed power back to the grid. Meanwhile, one Hurricane Ian survivor demonstrated a real-world test case for V2G when he lost power during the storm, writes CleanTechnica. The Ford F-150 Lightning owner in Florida used his truck’s battery to power his family’s refrigerator, lights, fans, stovetop, TV, and speakers for two days, with plenty of battery energy to spare by the time power was restored. (Electrek, CleanTechnica)

CLEAN ENERGY

Is A Good Investment

Iron-air battery company earns $450M investment for multi-day energy storage. Iron-air battery producer Form Energy received a hefty investment from its latest fundraising series as investors pour millions into new long-term clean energy storage solutions. Form recently completed its battery design, which can cheaply store clean energy and deliver round-the-clock power for days on end. It is expected to begin shipping its first batteries to customers as it scales up its production line, and the first pilot project deployment is expected to come online in Minnesota in 2024. (Canary Media)

Michigan EV battery plant could revive auto city. The $2.4 billion manufacturing complex from Chinese battery maker Gotion is expected to provide a huge boost to the local economy — including 2,350 jobs over a decade — and has won over broad swathes of the local community with excitement about its economic benefits. Average wages are expected to be roughly one-third higher than the central Michigan county’s median household income. While some residents have expressed concerns about water supply impacts from the factory, many locals and business owners are enthusiastic as the historic auto manufacturing state works to adapt to the growing EV market. (The Detroit News)

CLEAN ENERGY

Is Challenging

For rural officials, embracing solar power means political backlash. Across the country, anti-solar advocates have been organizing pressure on local officials to reject clean energy development in their communities. In one suburban Ohio town, solar opponents have dominated town meetings and successfully turned local commissioners against a proposed solar farm. Opponents have largely complained about changing the community’s character and promoted false fears about solar panel pollution. Solar supporters say officials seem unwilling to consider the projects’ benefits, like increased tax income for local governments, lease payments for farmers, and environmental benefits like the reduction in fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide use on land that will no longer be growing row crops. (Inside Climate News)

MULTIMEDIA

Chart: Clean energy jobs still lag dirty ones, but they’re growing fast