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STORAGE: A growing number of Americans are buying home battery storage systems to counter power outages occurring as the grid faces higher demand and more extreme weather. (Associated Press)
GRID:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
EFFICIENCY: The U.S. Energy Department announces $53.6 million to expand weatherization efforts and clean energy installations benefitting low-income communities in 13 states and the Virgin Islands. (Utility Dive)
WIND: New Mexico is emerging as a wind energy powerhouse, trailing only Wyoming in new capacity this year, as state officials approve two new leases that could add another 550 megawatts. (Renewable Energy World, Albuquerque Business Journal)
FOSSIL FUELS: Rhode Island regulators decide that a liquefied natural gas facility that was supposed to only operate temporarily can stay online for another five years, despite the community’s noise, light and climate pollution concerns. (Newport Daily News)
COMMENTARY: A sustainability advocate says Los Angeles will need an “epic transportation reboot” to achieve a zero-emission Olympic Games in 2028. (Los Angeles Times)
Massachusetts has awarded $53 million — and announced plans for additional funding — to allow affordable housing operators to execute energy efficiency retrofits that are expected to reduce carbon emissions, cut energy bills, and create healthier, more comfortable homes for residents.
The state in late July announced the second round of awards in the Affordable Housing Decarbonization Grant Program, allocating $26.1 million to five organizations to improve insulation, tighten building envelopes, and switch to heat pump heating and cooling systems. These grants come seven months after an initial round of $27.4 million was awarded to seven affordable housing operators statewide.
“This has been a really critical funding stream for moving forward critical energy projects at some of our family public housing sites,” said Joel Wool, deputy administrator for sustainability and capital transformation at the Boston Housing Authority, which received grants in both rounds.
Along with the most recent round of awards, the state also announced it would invest another $40 million into the program in anticipation of giving out another set of grants in the fall.
The program was designed to address two major policy goals: decarbonization and addressing the state’s affordable housing crisis.
Massachusetts has set the ambitious goal of going carbon-neutral by 2050. Buildings — which contribute 35% of the state’s carbon emissions — are a particularly important sector to target for decarbonization. This means finding ways to retrofit the state’s existing housing stock, much of which is drafty, heated by fossil fuels, and decades — or even centuries — old.
At the same time, Massachusetts is experiencing an acute housing crisis. State officials estimate at least 200,000 new homes are needed to accommodate demand by 2030. Finding an affordable home is even more challenging for lower-income residents faced with soaring rents and home prices — and often, high energy bills.
“We have such a housing crisis in Massachusetts that we want to do anything we can to create more housing, but also to make the housing we have now a better place to live,” said state Energy Department Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony. “These are investments in our infrastructure.”
Nonprofit Worcester Common Ground received an $820,000 grant in the latest round that it will use to complete deep energy retrofits on four buildings that were last updated some 30 years ago. The money will allow the renovations to include air sealing, more energy-efficient windows, and extra insulation. The grant will also allow the buildings to go fully electric, including with air source heat pumps that will provide lower-cost, more comfortable heating and cooling.
“Even though it’s a higher upfront cost, the hope is that maybe it reduces expenses going forward,” said Timothy Gilbert, project manager for Worcester Common Ground. “It might sound a little cheesy but we really do care about the well-being of the folks who live in our houses.”
In most cases, the grant money is being combined with other funding to allow more complete — and even downright ambitious — upgrades. In Worcester, other funding sources will pay for rooftop solar panels that will make the newly energy-efficient buildings even more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The Boston Housing Authority is using its latest $5.8 million award as part of a larger project that aims to completely decarbonize the Franklin Fields housing development in the Dorchester neighborhood by combining energy efficiency upgrades and Boston’s first networked geothermal system.
In the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, the Madison Park Development Corporation is receiving $13.5 million from the Affordable Housing Decarbonization Grant Program to do work at its 331-unit Orchard Gardens development. But it is also seeking out other sources to meet the $20 million expected cost of the planned sustainability upgrades.
“It’s a big property and the heart of one of Boston’s oldest, most diverse, most underserved neighborhoods,” said Oren Richkin, senior project manager for the organization. “This grant money is pivotal for this project.”
Supporters of the program are expecting it to strengthen the state’s ability to respond to climate change in the future as well. Switching affordable housing units from fossil fuel heating to heat pump heating and cooling will allow residents to stay comfortable and safe in their own homes during increasingly hot summers, Wool said.
The funding could also help nudge the ideas of deep energy retrofits and electrification more into the mainstream, Mahony said.
“We are essentially socializing these programs — the more we do it, the more people will get used to the ideas,” she said.
As the recipients of the first round of grants begin their projects, the state is starting to learn how to operate the program more effectively. The state has already, for example, started providing some technical assistance to organizations interested in applying for future rounds of funding. Continued conversations with building owners and nonprofits will be essential to creating an even stronger program moving forward, Mahony said.
“We’re setting ourselves up for success in the future,” she said.
Swapping out natural gas heating for an all-electric heat pump can be a big ask. Finding a qualified contractor, upgrading an electric panel, considering efficiency in cold weather — that’s a lot to consider for most people.
Electric equipment like lawnmowers and leafblowers meanwhile only need to be plugged in to replace their fossil fuel-powered alternatives. And as a new survey from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy finds, they can be key in encouraging homeowners to take on bigger electrification projects down the line.
The electrification advocacy group surveyed 1,801 homeowners and renters about how they power their homes and appliances, and what might encourage them to electrify, Canary Media reports. It turned out that participants who already had electric lawn equipment were 84% more likely than others to want to electrify their cooking appliances, and 33% and 32% more likely to want to electrify their home and water heating, respectively.
Another new idea that could motivate an electric switch? A warning label telling consumers about the pollutants gas stoves release in their kitchens.
A consumer advocacy group recently filed a lawsuit against GE Appliances claiming the company didn’t tell buyers about the dangerous pollutants, E&E News reports. The group says that violates Washington, D.C.’s consumer protection law, and wants a judge to require the manufacturer to put a warning label on the gas stoves it sells.
Would a warning label make you think twice before buying a gas stove? What about rebates or other motivators? Let us know by replying to this email.
🚗 Cleaner cars coming soon: In a bid to boost electric vehicles, the Biden administration proposes fuel economy rules that would require new cars to average 38 miles per gallon by 2031, a jump from 29 mpg today but short of standards originally proposed last year. (Associated Press)
🌞 Surprise solar boom: A two-year pause on federal solar import tariffs from Southeast Asia ends, which experts say could drive a solar installation boom as developers use up components they’ve imported duty-free. (Reuters)
🏭 ‘Systematic’ underrepresentation: A new study finds people of color are underrepresented in the fossil fuel and chemical manufacturing industries, even as emissions disproportionately affect their communities. (Floodlight)
💵 Banking on clean energy: The International Energy Agency expects global investments in clean energy to exceed fossil fuels by 10 times over this year, largely because of skyrocketing solar project spending. (The Guardian)
☢️ Nuclear questions: As the Biden administration moves to boost nuclear deployment, industry experts and officials who led Georgia’s over-budget, long-delayed Plant Vogtle construction warn against building new large reactors. (Utility Dive, Bloomberg)
⚖️ Climate lawsuits at risk: Fossil fuel leaders and allies author op-eds and run social media ads to push the U.S. Supreme Court to take their side and dismiss dozens of lawsuits from cities and states looking to hold the industry accountable for climate damages. (The Guardian, E&E News)
🌋 Hotspotting: A new map reveals potential geothermal hotspots across the U.S. where subterranean heat is strong enough to be tapped for electricity generation. (The Hill)
🔌 Get interconnected: U.S. utilities and grid operators aren’t taking full advantage of regional transmission connections, potentially reducing reliability and raising electricity costs, a federal lab’s study finds. (Utility Dive)
BUILDINGS: Inflation Reduction Act funding for home energy rebates will likely remain mostly unspent until after the November election; Trump allies have indicated he would revamp the program and jeopardize the funding if he is elected. (E&E News)
ALSO: As some co-op and condo buildings consider just paying the fines instead of complying with New York City’s building emissions law, the city’s council considers a bill to ease penalties. (Gothamist)
SOLAR: Covering around 10% of the world’s lakes and reservoirs with floating solar panels could generate enough electricity to power the United Kingdom four times over, and could be used to cover all power use in some small countries, scientists find. (Grist)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
GRID:
POLITICS:
UTILITIES: The Tennessee Valley Authority says its emissions reductions and renewable power generation makes it a clean energy leader, but critics say its proposal to build 7,000 MW of new gas generation negates that claim. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
PIPELINES: “I don’t want to be in town when it blows up” — Virginia residents react to federal regulators’ approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request to begin transporting natural gas. (WVTF, WDBJ)
GEOTHERMAL: Google agrees to purchase about 112 MW of enhanced geothermal-generated electricity from NV Energy to power its Nevada data centers. (Reuters)
ELECTRIFICATION: Southern California regulators approve rules aimed at slashing nitrogen oxide emissions by requiring businesses to replace fossil fueled industrial boilers and water heaters with electric ones. (Canary Media)
CARBON CAPTURE: PacifiCorp considers contracting with a New Mexico carbon capture firm formerly led by the utility’s current CEO to retrofit a Wyoming coal plant, raising conflict-of-interest concerns. (E&E News)
POLLUTION: Southern California regulators roll back a rule allowing industrial facilities to avoid paying emissions fees after advocates argued it removed the impetus for businesses to reduce pollution. (Los Angeles Times)
GRID: Regional transmission organization SPP proposes to link the Western and Eastern grids for the first time by placing seven Western entities under its tariff. (E&E News, subscription)
SOLAR: A California community choice aggregator agrees to purchase 48 MW of power from two proposed solar-plus-storage installations in the southern part of the state. (news release)
WIND:
OIL & GAS:
CLEAN ENERGY: Washington state seeks residents’ input on utility-scale clean energy in an effort to guide future development. (NW News)
MINING:
COAL: Colorado officials plan to attempt to extinguish an underground coal seam fire in an abandoned mine near the ignition point of the destructive 2021 Marshall Fire. (CBS News)
COMMENTARY: An energy columnist analyzes competing efforts to establish Western regional transmission organizations and day-ahead power markets, laying out the benefits, drawbacks and obstacles standing in the way of both options. (Canary Media)
EMISSIONS: Mass electrification would be the best way to reduce buildings’ emissions and hit Minnesota’s climate targets, according to a new report from a coalition of energy experts, community service groups and consumer advocates. (Sahan Journal)
STORAGE: DTE Energy is set to announce plans for a large battery storage facility at a former southeastern Michigan coal plant. (Detroit Free Press)
GRID: An Indiana consumer advocate warns against getting swept up by hyperbole about the need to build new power plants as electricity demand in the state is expected to grow because of data centers. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
CLEAN ENERGY:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: An Iowa county deploys more neighborhood air quality monitors that local officials say can be targeted to areas of concern and help meet environmental justice goals. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: About 5,800 Minnesota residents have applied for $2,500 rebates for electric vehicles under a state program that launched four months ago. (MPR News)
EFFICIENCY: Indiana officials seek public input on how to design programs that allocate $182 million in federal funding for residential energy efficiency projects. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
SOLAR:
PIPELINES: A company says its 10-foot-long drone provides a safer and cheaper alternative to oil and gas pipeline inspections in North Dakota. (KFYR)
COMMENTARY:
BATTERIES: Chicago officials advance regulations that would create fines for distributing lithium-ion-powered devices that fail to meet safety standards as fire risks grow with the rise of electric bikes, scooters and vehicles. (Chicago Sun-Times)
COAL: Critics question Alliant Energy’s commitment to clean energy after the utility delayed for three years plans to convert a Wisconsin coal plant to run on gas, citing grid reliability concerns. (Sheboygan Press)
CLEAN ENERGY: Former U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says northeastern Ohio cities are providing a model for collaborative, regional planning around clean energy and job training. (WYSO)
CARBON CAPTURE:
GRID: Time-of-use rates are now in effect for Michigan’s two largest utilities, which state regulators say are meant to curb electricity use during high-demand months. (Bridge)
WIND:
SOLAR:
BIOGAS: Springfield, Missouri, plans a $31.6 million project that would convert landfill gas into renewable natural gas and generate revenue to pay off the debt service associated with the project. (Daily Citizen)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: U.S. senators tell a senior transportation official that the pace of electric vehicle charging infrastructure construction is too slow years after the bipartisan infrastructure law took effect. (E&E News, subscription)
GRID: Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso say they will soon release a draft bill to reform permitting for transmission lines and other energy infrastructure, with Manchin saying a recent FERC rule is “a Band-Aid on Congress’s inaction.” (Utility Dive)
ALSO: A key question in FERC’s proposal to accelerate transmission line construction is how much utilities will profit, with outcomes expected to vary by state. (E&E News)
CLIMATE:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Auto industry analysts warn that a U.S. retrenchment on electric vehicles, including if a Republican takes the White House in November, would give up significant market share to China. (CQ Roll Call)
LITHIUM: Some residents of California’s Imperial Valley are skeptical the growing lithium extraction industry will bring economic development, saying previous clean energy booms failed to deliver permanent jobs or prosperity. (KPBS)
COAL:
UTILITIES: Duke Energy’s plan to build five large natural gas plants in the Carolinas is on a collision course with new Biden administration rules that would throttle the plants’ use in just eight years. (Energy News Network)
WIND: The developers of two Northeast offshore wind farms say they’ve canceled an agreement to use Dominion Energy’s new installation ship, saying only that “we have secured an alternative installation vessel.” (CT Examiner)
GRID: AEP Ohio asks state regulators for new rate structures that would require data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities to commit to long-term purchase agreements as the industry threatens to spike power demand. (Columbus Dispatch)
ALSO: Federal energy regulators approve sweeping transmission policy changes that aim to speed up interregional lines to move clean energy, improve long-term planning and fairly spread out costs. (Reuters)
MINING: Geologists say they have found a massive deposit of manganese in northern Minnesota and are determining whether it’s feasible to mine as a key mineral to reinforce steel and make lithium-ion batteries. (WCCO)
OIL & GAS: North Dakota enhanced oil recovery pilot projects could potentially unlock billions more barrels of oil over the coming decades, state officials say. (North Dakota Monitor)
CLEAN ENERGY:
HYDROGEN: High-profile hydrogen and advanced battery projects in Michigan face major uncertainty as demand for the products remains in question and investors rein in spending on unproven technologies. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)
UTILITIES: The death of former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo, who was facing federal and state charges for his alleged role in a major utility corruption scheme, was officially ruled as a suicide. (Statehouse News Bureau)
CLIMATE: Homeowners across the Midwest are being dropped from their insurance policies as insurers increasingly lose money from more extreme weather events tied to climate change. (New York Times)
SOLAR:
STORAGE: Detroit-based utility DTE Energy seeks proposals from developers to build energy storage projects totaling about 120 MW. (Renewable Energy World)
COMMENTARY:
GRID: A new order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will require grid operators to plan for a massive transmission buildout to support renewable energy, but critics say the rule infringes on state authority and could be subject to legal challenge. (Canary Media)
ALSO:
TRANSPORTATION: A coalition of 24 states yesterday petitioned a federal court to overturn EPA rules limiting emissions from trucks, while a separate lawsuit challenges California’s phase-out of diesel engines. (Associated Press)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: As anticipated, the Biden administration yesterday announced a new 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles and 50% on solar components; China claims the move violates international trade rules. (CNN)
CLIMATE:
POLITICS: House Democrats are investigating whether Donald Trump’s solicitation of $1 billion in donations from oil companies violates federal campaign finance laws. (Washington Post)
NUCLEAR:
COAL: Federal and state records show a company that operates an Alabama coal mine where an explosion killed one nearby resident and critically injured another has been cited hundreds of times for safety violations and is delinquent on dozens of penalties. (Inside Climate News)
ELECTRIFICATION: California lawmakers advance legislation that would require labels on all new natural gas stoves warning customers of potential health hazards resulting from the appliances’ emissions. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
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