SOLAR: U.S. corporations installed nearly 19 GW of solar in the first nine months of 2022, doubling total capacity since 2019, with Meta, Amazon, Apple, Walmart and Microsoft leading the way. (Utility Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• The U.S. Treasury Department issues wage and apprenticeship standards that firms must meet to qualify for clean energy tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act. (CNBC)
• President Biden’s visit to a Michigan semiconductor manufacturing plant signifies a new phase as the administration begins to implement the Inflation Reduction Act. (E&E News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• As the U.S. looks to build out an electric vehicle charging network, utility spats with gas stations, delays on bringing chargers to rural areas, and supply shortages stand in the way. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)
• Adding more electric vehicles to the grid could allow them to function as a cost-effective, large-scale power source that could shore up reliability, researchers find. (CleanTechnica)
GRID:
• Utility leaders agree distributed energy resources like rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles can help bolster grid reliability as the U.S. shifts to clean power, but say cost challenges remain. (Utility Dive)
• In rural Vermont, Green Mountain Power uses solar-powered microgrids to electrify remote villages during power outages as part of its “resiliency zone” initiative. (Energy News Network)
• Texas utility regulators assure residents the grid is ready for winter despite recent reports from federal officials and the state grid manager acknowledging the possibility of preemptive outages in extreme weather. (Austin American-Statesman, Texas Tribune)
WIND: In Texas, a conservative public policy foundation aims to preserve fossil fuels’ reign by convincing voters that offshore wind poses a major threat to the environment. (Heated/Distilled)
PUBLIC LANDS: The Biden administration plans to establish the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument on 450,000 acres of federal land in southern Nevada that has been targeted for wind and solar power development. (Washington Post)
NUCLEAR:
• On a U.S. visit this week, French President Emmanuel Macron plans to tout a nuclear power “renaissance,” looking to boost his country’s development and export of small reactors and other nuclear technologies. (Washington Post)
• Federal regulators identify several “significant issues” with an Oregon company’s draft design application for the 77 MW small modular reactor it would use in a proposed Idaho power installation. (Utility Dive)
COAL ASH: The U.S. EPA’s recent denial of a plan to continue dumping toxic coal ash from Ohio’s largest coal plant into an unlined pond could doom the power plant, and carries ramifications for Georgia Power’s plans to leave coal ash buried in place. (Columbus Dispatch, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
STORAGE: United Airlines will invest in a sodium-ion battery manufacturer and hopes to adopt the technology to electrify its ground operations. (Canary Media)
OIL & GAS: Colorado oil and gas operators use relatively strict state regulations in their favor by marketing their products as “cleaner” than those from less-regulated states. (E&E News)
PIPELINES: A federal judge orders Enbridge and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to develop an emergency plan to prevent potential spills from Line 5 on tribal land in northern Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
BUILDINGS: In the Maryland suburbs of D.C., the Montgomery County Council passes a bill requiring an all-electric building standard for most new buildings, major renovations and additions starting in 2027. (DCist)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West
View this campaign in your browser.