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SOLAR: Nevada’s Clean Energy Fund looks to begin distributing $156 million in federal funds to multifamily affordable housing and community solar projects that would benefit low-income and disadvantaged households. (Nevada Current)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
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CLIMATE: California regulators plan to delay enforcing the state’s new greenhouse gas emissions disclosure law to allow companies more time to transition to full compliance. (Utility Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY: Advocates say the clean energy and transmission development surge on federal lands in Nevada and neighboring states amounts to “a fundamental transformation of the American West.” (Inside Climate News/Type Investigations)
GRID: California’s grid operator says increased battery energy storage capacity helped it meet rising power demand this summer even though gas generation declined. (RTO Insider, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
OIL & GAS: A U.S. Energy Department study finds a planned liquefied natural gas buildout would increase emissions and energy costs, but it doesn’t call for a hard limit on new projects and leaves the door open for Trump administration approvals. (The Guardian, E&E News)
ELECTRIFICATION: Advocates assess how to keep driving heat pump adoption through local and state policies as Republicans take over federal leadership. (Canary Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
GRID:
NUCLEAR: A Massachusetts company plans to build a 400-MW fusion power plant in Virginia, aiming to be the first commercial-scale fusion generator in the country. (Boston Globe)
POLITICS: A year-end federal funding bill includes language to boost semiconductor suppliers, but lacks permitting reforms, pipeline safety measures, and a slew of discussed natural resources measures. (E&E News)
CARBON CAPTURE: Occidental Petroleum builds a carbon capture facility in the gas-heavy Permian Basin, but critics argue that adding more injection wells could further destabilize a region already pockmarked with leaky oil and gas wells. (Marfa Public Radio)
CLIMATE: Massachusetts environmental advocates hope a provision in the state’s new climate law could halt a proposed expansion of private jet facilities at a suburban airport, which they say will drive up emissions. (Energy News Network)
WASHINGTON DC, December 3, 2024 – The American Clean Power Association (ACP) today released its latest Clean Power Quarterly Market Report, detailing a surge in clean energy deployment during Q3 2024, with 10.2 GW of clean energy capacity coming online. This record-setting quarter positions the industry to achieve a historic year in 2024, underscoring the strength of American clean power.
Year-to-date installations now total 29.6 GW, representing an impressive 86 percent increase over the same period in 2023. This growth highlights how clean energy resources have solidified themselves as an affordable and reliable source of power for communities across the country. The U.S. has now deployed 294 GW of clean power capacity—enough energy to power 72 million American homes.
“American-made clean power is meeting the moment, providing the resources necessary to continue delivering affordable and reliable power to communities across the country. The record pace of clean power installations is delivering not only for the power grid but for the U.S. economy,” said John Hensley, ACP’s SVP of Markets and Policy Analysis. “The impacts of the industry’s investments are vast, keeping America competitive on the global economic stage and enhancing our energy and national security.”
Additional Key Highlights:
A scaled-down version of the report is available to the public, with the full Clean Power Quarterly Market Report | Q3 2024 available only to ACP members.
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) is the leading voice of today’s multi-tech clean energy industry, representing over 800 energy storage, wind, utility-scale solar, clean hydrogen and transmission companies. ACP is committed to meeting America’s national security, economic and climate goals with fast-growing, low-cost, and reliable domestic power.
Follow ACP on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and learn more at cleanpower.org.
SOLAR: Cities in Michigan and Wisconsin are contracting with large utilities to provide solar power after encountering financial and logistical challenges with building rooftop solar installations. (Energy News Network)
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GRID:
OIL & GAS: Nearly all of the 600 public comments sent to Ohio regulators in response to proposals to open a state park and two wildlife preservation areas to hydraulic fracturing oppose the plans. (Cleveland.com)
COAL: The Sierra Club criticizes Wisconsin utilities’ plan to keep open a coal plant for three years longer than previously planned, saying that it delays the clean energy transition and exposes residents to more harmful pollutants. (Wisconsin Examiner)
TRANSPORTATION: A majority of the recipients of a new Minnesota electric bike tax rebate went to residents making more than $100,000 a year while less than 40% of the rebates went to low-income residents. (Minnesota Reformer)
BATTERIES: A developer breaks ground on a $110 million mixed-use housing and hotel project that would connect to a nearby $7.5 billion central Indiana battery manufacturing plant. (Indianapolis Business Journal, subscription)
POLITICS: Establishing a fee for Minneapolis’ largest carbon emitters was one of multiple policies that the city’s mayor unsuccessfully attempted to veto in a disagreement with the more left-leaning city council. (MPR News)
COMMENTARY:
WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management approves a downscaled version of the proposed Lava Ridge wind facility in southern Idaho amid lawmakers’ and advocates’ concerns about its impact to rural communities and a World War II Japanese American incarceration site. (Associated Press)
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OVERSIGHT: Analysts say the outcome of a Utah oil-hauling railway case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week could curtail a landmark federal environmental law. (Inside Climate News)
ELECTRIFICATION:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California prepares to launch its electric bicycle incentive program for lower-income residents, but some advocates say there should be more than 1,500 vouchers available. (Electrek)
TRANSPORTATION: Colorado’s largest public transit agency breaks ground on bus rapid transit projects in the Denver area as a lower-cost alternative to new commuter or light rail lines. (Colorado Sun)
GRID: NV Energy proposes a rate increase to pay for its Greenlink West and North transmission projects, saying the projected construction cost has doubled to more than $4.2 billion. (Nevada Independent)
CLEAN ENERGY: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says an influx of federal funding and private investments are making the state a clean energy generation and manufacturing powerhouse. (Albuquerque Journal)
COAL: Residents of the Black Mesa area on the Navajo Nation create a nonprofit aimed at bringing a just transition to communities in the historic coal mining region. (Arizona Republic)
UTILITIES: Avangrid asks the New Mexico Supreme Court to vacate regulators’ order blocking its proposed merger with the state’s largest utility. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
COMMENTARY: A Nevada columnist urges lawmakers to consider data centers’ rapid growth in the state and address their high energy and water consumption. (Nevada Independent)
CLIMATE: New Hampshire’s new climate plan is unlikely to include emissions reduction targets, and will instead focus on voluntary measures, use of federal funds, and market-based solutions. (NHPR)
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SOLAR: Commissioners in one Maryland county vote to tighten the requirements for solar installations on agricultural land as they face a flurry of interest from developers. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)
GEOTHERMAL: Communities in Massachusetts and Vermont are among those awarded federal funding to support the construction of geothermal heating and cooling networks. (Smart Cities Dive)
FOSSIL FUELS: A Pennsylvania oil and gas company will pay $2 million and reduce emissions at 49 facilities as part of a settlement of alleged Clean Air Act violations. (Allegheny Front)
BIOFUELS: In New York, biofuels suppliers tout their product as a lower-emissions option, though some worry their use would only slow progress toward electrification. (Times Union)
UTILITIES:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A New Jersey legislative committee votes for a two-year delay on the implementation of a rule that would require increasing sales of battery-powered vehicles. (NJ Spotlight News)
EFFICIENCY: Connecticut launches a pilot providing funding, training, and expertise to small manufacturing companies looking to implement energy efficiency measures or use renewable energy. (Hartford Business Journal)
COMMENTARY: The renewable energy industry in Maine has a positive effect on the economy and creates stable, good-paying jobs, and should not be blamed for rising energy costs, says the cofounder of a solar company. (Bangor Daily News, subscription)
CLEAN ENERGY: While the Project 2025 policy blueprint calls for eliminating the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, Republican lawmakers are uncertain, with some saying the program, which turned a profit last year, could be retooled to emphasize energy sources like nuclear that are favored by conservatives. (E&E News, New York Times archive)
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EQUITY: Advocates say anticipated Trump administration climate rollbacks, particularly the expected elimination of the Justice40 initiative, will hit Black communities especially hard. (Capital B News)
EMISSIONS: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative offers a model of successful state-led action on decarbonization, and is considering ways to expand participation as Trump pledges to roll back federal climate policies. (Energy News Network)
STORAGE: Duke Energy moves to demolish the final units of a former coal plant in North Carolina and replace it with a 167 MW battery storage facility, marking a step toward renewables even though the utility still plans to build gas-fired power elsewhere. (Canary Media)
WIND: A federal agency identifies environmental measures it will likely take in a group of six offshore wind lease areas off New York, pushing ahead despite Trump’s claims he will stop offshore wind development. (Maritime Executive)
NUCLEAR: A Tennessee city that’s historically been a hotspot for nuclear research is seeing a resurgence of interest from companies eager to take part in a new “nuclear renaissance.” (Knoxville News Sentinel)
PIPELINES: Whistleblowers warn the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is “putting profit over safety” by largely relying on private inspectors hired by pipeline companies to monitor compliance with safety rules. (E&E News)
COAL: Wyoming and Montana join a lawsuit accusing three investment firms of following a “climate activist agenda” by colluding to acquire large stakes in publicly held coal companies and forcing the firms to slash Powder River Basin mine production. (Cowboy State Daily)
EFFICIENCY: A Minneapolis nonprofit is leading the construction of passive homes on the city’s north side that aim to save homeowners with minimal electric and heating bills. (Sahan Journal)
COMMENTARY: A Western journalist says the incoming Trump administration’s pro-drilling agenda will harm the environment while doing little to bolster oil and gas production — which reached record levels under Biden. (Land Desk)
COAL: Wyoming and Montana join a lawsuit accusing three investment firms of following a “climate activist agenda” by colluding to acquire large stakes in publicly held coal companies and forcing the firms to slash Powder River Basin mine production. (Cowboy State Daily)
OIL & GAS: Petroleum firms appeal a court order barring the federal Bureau of Land Management from issuing drilling permits for a Wyoming oil and gas project. (E&E News, subscription)
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BIOFUELS: Advocates push back on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to expand ethanol-blending in gasoline, saying it is unlikely to lower fuel prices and could have environmental impacts in corn-growing regions. (Inside Climate News)
UTILITIES:
CLIMATE: Portland, Oregon, officials launch an online climate dashboard allowing residents to track local greenhouse gas emissions and local progress toward decarbonization targets. (OPB)
OVERSIGHT: California Gov. Gavin Newsom asks state lawmakers to allocate $25 million to fund litigation defending state climate, environmental and other progressive policies from the incoming Trump administration’s expected challenges. (Los Angeles Times)
MINING: A southeastern Utah copper mine lays off more than 55% of its workforce as it moves forward on a “significant restructuring effort.” (San Juan Record News)
PUBLIC LANDS: Wyoming advocates worry the incoming Republican-dominated Congress will overturn the Biden administration’s plan to tighten oil and gas drilling rules on 3.6 million acres of public land in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)
COMMENTARY:
OFFSHORE WIND: A planned 114-turbine wind farm off Maryland receives final federal approval, but still faces local opposition and likely hostility from President-elect Donald Trump. (Maryland Matters)
RENEWABLES: New York state executes contracts for 23 renewable energy projects expected to reduce emissions by 2.3 million metric tons annually. (Renewable Energy Magazine)
BATTERIES: A company making zinc-based, long-duration batteries will use a $300 million federal loan guarantee to expand its Pennsylvania manufacturing facility to address a backlog of orders. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Canadian company that supplied electric school buses causing problems for several Maine school districts is on the brink of bankruptcy. (Portland Press Herald, subscription)
EMISSIONS: The company that owns the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, which is looking to restart to sell power to Microsoft, routinely ranks among the U.S. power producers generating the lowest carbon emissions. (The Well)
EFFICIENCY: An affordable housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, includes $900,000 to complete energy efficiency retrofits for 30 existing homes in the neighborhood of the new units. (Connecticut Public Radio)
ELECTRIFICATION: New York launches a $10 million program to help advance cold-climate heat pump technology by funding manufacturers developing the products and field demonstration projects in large buildings. (Facility Executive)
COMMENTARY:
BIOFUELS: A Colorado power plant fueled by shredded beetle-killed trees shuts down, putting wildfire mitigation efforts on hold and raising questions about the viability of biofuel-generated electricity. (Colorado Sun)
SOLAR:
GEOTHERMAL: A Nevada gold mine considers adding geothermal generation to an existing natural gas plant in an effort to decarbonize its operations. (news release)
EFFICIENCY: An Alaska-backed housing lender offers $10,000 rebates for new energy-efficient homes. (Alaska Public Media)
UTILITIES:
CLIMATE: Climate change-exacerbated extreme heat adds urgency to efforts to bring electricity to some 13,000 off-grid Navajo Nation homes. (KUNR)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California startup Aptera launches a crowdfunding campaign to bring its solar-powered electric vehicle to production. (Inside EVs)
BATTERIES: A California startup plans to begin manufacturing lithium-sulfur batteries at its Bay Area facility next year, saying they are cheaper and require less mined material than lithium-ion ones. (Heatmap)
TRANSITION: Los Angeles County votes to develop a plan aimed at helping displaced workers and communities weather Phillips 66’s petroleum refinery’s planned 2025 closure. (Daily Breeze)
TRANSPORTATION: Colorado officials expect a proposal to extend a passenger rail line to the northwestern part of the state will survive the incoming Trump administration’s funding cuts. (Aspen Times)
POLITICS: U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, of Arizona, steps down as the House Natural Resources Committee’s ranking Democrat, which oversees energy development and mining on federal lands. (Arizona Capitol Times)
COMMENTARY:
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