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CLIMATE: Earth saw its hottest year on record in 2024, exceeding the previous year’s record and prompting a “red flag” warning from climate scientists as the planet surpassed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming threshold for the first time. (Associated Press)
SOLAR: Texas and California led the way on the record-breaking additions of 34 GW of new solar and 13 GW in battery storage across the U.S. last year, as 96% of all new generation capacity in 2024 was carbon-free. (Canary Media)
POLITICS:
GRID:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Analysts expect electric vehicle sales to jump 30% this year, even though the incoming Trump administration and its threat of tariffs and rolling back the EV tax credit and other incentives could slow the industry’s growth. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS: Colorado regulators adopt first-in-the-nation rules requiring natural gas gathering and compression facilities to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but advocates say they lack enforcement parameters. (Colorado Sun)
COMMENTARY: Clean fuel standards can make states more independent from the federal government and generate revenue to fund electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the head of a Michigan business group writes. (Utility Dive)
Gov. Janet Mills wants to make a new department focused on the state’s energy needs and goals.
In her upcoming biennial budget proposal that is expected on Friday, Mills will outline her plan for the current Governor’s Energy Office to be elevated to a cabinet-level department. This would be a budget-neutral initiative that would allow for more comprehensive and consistent management of Maine’s energy system, according to a news release from the governor’s office Wednesday.
If the budget proposal is approved by the Maine Legislature, the Governor’s Energy Office would transition to the Maine Department of Energy Resources by the end of this year. It would be led by a commissioner, who would be appointed by the governor and subject to legislative confirmation.
In recent years, the Maine Legislature has significantly expanded the responsibilities of the Governor’s Energy Office. For example, the office has secured more than $200 million in federal funding to support grid resilience and innovation, energy efficiency and workforce development.
“By designating a cabinet seat focused solely on energy issues, Maine will be in a stronger position to deliver more affordable energy, advance our energy goals, and grow the state’s economy,” said Dan Burgess, director of the Governor’s Energy Office.
The new energy department would be the lead agency on energy resources, policies, planning, data, markets, energy security and program implementation; all of which currently fall to the Governor’s Energy Office.
Like those in other states, Maine’s new department would have additional authority to conduct competitive energy procurements to meet the state’s power demands and reliability needs. It would also continue to coordinate with the Maine Public Utilities Commission and other state, regional and federal partners.
State law requires Maine to transition to renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; however, it must be done while ensuring that Mainers will still have access to affordable, reliable and secure energy, said Maine Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York) and state Rep. Melanie Sachs (D-Freeport), who serve as co-chairs of the Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, in a joint statement.
In 2022, Mills signed into law a state goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The next year, she set a new target of 100% clean electricity by 2040. She also established the Maine Climate Council, which is responsible for maintaining the state’s four-year roadmap to meeting those and other climate goals.
“Regular planning, evaluation, and education delivered by a dedicated agency will ensure the consistency needed to keep Maine on a path toward these goals,” Lawrence and Sachs said in the release. “There’s a reason why this concept has been proposed previously in bipartisan fashion.”
Maine also has a goal of creating three gigawatts of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine — enough to power between 675,000 and 900,000 homes — installed by the end of 2040. While the state was awarded a lease for a research array with up to 12 floating turbines to help inform how floating offshore wind operates and interacts with ecosystems in the water, the future of the renewable energy source hangs in the balance with President-elect Donald Trump having said he would seek to halt all offshore wind projects.
In 2017, during the LePage administration, state Rep. Kenneth Fredette (R-Newport) introduced legislation to establish an energy seat in the cabinet that would be responsible for energy planning, data analysis and the implementation of an oil dependence reduction plan. The bill was supported by the Legislature’s energy committee at the time, but died upon adjournment.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday it supports Mills’ proposal, noting that energy is one of the most pressing issues for the state’s economy.
“Addressing energy affordability and meeting our state’s climate targets will require careful planning and execution and the Chamber looks forward to working with the Administration on those efforts with a cabinet-level Energy Department leading that effort,” said President and CEO Patrick Woodcock in the release.
EMISSIONS: More than a dozen states — including most of the Northeast — expect President-elect Trump to take away their authority to impose stringent rules on motor vehicle emissions in line with California’s regulations. (New Jersey Monitor)
POLITICS:
NUCLEAR: As New York faces rising power demand and the need to lower greenhouse gas emissions, it’s taking a serious look at the possibilities of advanced nuclear power plants. (Inside Climate News)
SOLAR:
GRID: A new study of the New England power system finds the region’s reliance on natural gas power generation poses risks in case of an extended cold snap or gas infrastructure problems. (RTO Insider, subscription)
OFFSHORE WIND: Offshore wind development can be responsibility sited and managed to avoid hurting bird populations, says the National Audubon Society. (news release)
ELECTRIFICATION: Burlington, Vermont’s electric department announces expanded rebates for heat pumps, used electric vehicles, e-bikes, and other electric appliances and equipment. (news release)
COMMENTARY: Connecticut should follow in New York and Vermont’s footsteps and pass legislation to make fossil fuel companies pay for the damages caused by climate change, says an environmental activist. (CT Mirror)
RENEWABLES: Texas is the top state for development of renewable energy generation and battery capacity as of the end of 2024, ranking first for wind and solar and second behind California for battery capacity. (Reuters)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
SOLAR: A renewables company announces the closing of financing for a 109 MW solar farm under construction in Georgia. (Renewables Now)
OIL & GAS:
GRID:
EMISSIONS: Mitsubishi drops its plans to build a $1.3 billion petrochemical plant that would have ranked among the top 50 greenhouse gas polluters in Louisiana, citing a drop in demand for the products it would have made. (Louisiana Illuminator)
UTILITIES: Houston’s city council denies a rate increase for CenterPoint Energy after the utility was criticized for its efforts to maintain and restore power during Hurricane Beryl, although the utility is likely to appeal the decision to state regulators. (Houston Chronicle)
POLITICS: Hundreds of Oklahoma activists rally for Gov. Kevin Stitt to issue an executive order to block new wind and solar facilities despite renewables’ relative success in the state, which ranks third in the nation for wind energy. (Heatmap)
GRID: The future of Biden administration initiatives to spur transmission construction is in question as Republicans take over Congress and the White House, though utilities, state regulators and private investors could use growing power demand to make a case for continued expansion. (E&E News, Canary Media)
ALSO:
EMISSIONS:
RENEWABLES: Texas is the top state for renewable energy generation and battery capacity as of the end of 2024, ranking first for wind and solar and second behind California for battery capacity. (Reuters)
COAL: Rocky Mountain Power cancels several Wyoming coal plants’ previously scheduled retirements, but plans to convert some of the units to run on natural gas. (Cowboy State Daily)
OIL & GAS:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
NUCLEAR: As New York faces rising power demand and the need to lower greenhouse gas emissions, it’s taking a serious look at the possibilities of advanced nuclear power plants. (Inside Climate News)
CLEAN ENERGY: A decades-long local government collaboration in southwestern Minnesota helps 18 counties manage clean energy development and avoid controversies and misinformation that have affected projects in other parts of the country. (Energy News Network)
OIL & GAS: The U.S. Interior Department announces it received no bids for oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying industry’s lack of interest shows some places are “too special and sacred” for drilling. (Alaska Beacon)
ALSO: The Biden administration rejects Hilcorp’s bid for more time to develop an offshore Arctic oil and gas project that has been stagnant since the 1990s, meaning its leases will expire at the end of the year. (Alaska Beacon)
BIOFUELS: Oregon regulators greenlight a proposed $2.5 billion biofuel refinery along the Columbia River amid advocates’ concerns over environmental impacts. (Oregonian)
COAL:
POLITICS: Right-wing Wyoming lawmakers introduce “make carbon great again” legislation that would block the state from designating the greenhouse gas as a pollutant and repeal carbon capture mandates. (WyoFile)
GEOTHERMAL: The Biden administration plans to extend Endangered Species Act protections to a butterfly found only in a stretch of northern Nevada, potentially affecting future geothermal development. (Nevada Current)
STORAGE: The U.S. Energy Department awards a firm a $1.76 billion conditional loan guarantee to fund a proposed 500 MW advanced compressed air energy storage system in southern California. (news release)
ELECTRIFICATION: California startups successfully demonstrate their “watt diet” that uses smart circuit-splitters to electrify homes without expensive service or panel upgrades. (Quitting Carbon)
CLIMATE: The Biden administration awards tribal nations and organizations $121 million to fund climate resilience planning. (news release)
TRANSPORTATION: Daimler plans to stop selling large diesel trucks in Oregon over concerns it won’t meet the state’s advanced clean truck rule’s electric vehicle quota. (Willamette Week)
UTILITIES: Analysts find NorthWestern Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric stand to profit from new data centers’ growing power demands in their service areas. (Utility Dive)
POLLUTION: The U.S. EPA plans to lift sanctions imposed on Alaska for failing to address toxic emissions in Fairbanks after the state revised its air pollution plan. (Alaska Beacon)
SOLAR: A developer begins construction on a 226 MW solar-plus-storage project in southeastern Nevada to provide power to Las Vegas casinos. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
MICROGRIDS: A Wendy’s restaurant in California plans to install a solar-plus-storage powered microgrid. (Microgrid Knowledge)
GRID: The Bonneville Power Administration says it is still weighing the pros and cons of joining a regional day-ahead power market after leaning towards SPP’s Markets+. (RTO Insider, subscription)
A long-running local government collaboration in southwestern Minnesota is helping to insulate the region from the kind of controversies and misinformation that have plagued rural clean energy projects in other states.
The Rural Minnesota Energy Board has its origins in a regional task force that was set up during the mid-1990s as the state’s first wind farms were being built. The task force was instrumental in persuading state legislators in 2002 to create a wind energy production tax, which today generates millions of dollars in annual revenue for counties and townships that host wind projects.
The group’s scope and membership has since gradually expanded to include 18 rural counties that pay monthly dues for support on energy policy and permitting. The board represents members at the state legislature and in Public Utilities Commission proceedings. At home, it facilitates community meetings with project developers, helps draft energy-related ordinances, and educates members and the public on the benefits of energy projects.
The result, say clean energy advocates and developers, has been a uniquely consistent approach to local energy policy and permitting that makes it easier for renewable companies to do business in the region.
“The rural energy board has been a critical, important body and one of the major reasons why renewable energy has been successful in southwestern Minnesota,” said Adam Sokolski, director of regulatory and legislative affairs at EDF Renewables North America. “Their policies have encouraged good decision-making over the years and led to a stable and productive region for energy development.”
EDF Renewables has worked with the board on at least nine projects in the region. Sokolski said he’s come to admire its approach to policy making, its support for transmission projects, and its efforts to educate members on clean energy.
“It’s positive to have county leaders talking to each other about energy projects, about how … they can approach those projects so they best benefit their constituents and the public,” he said.
Southwest Minnesota has the state’s densest concentration of wind turbines and is increasingly attracting solar developers, too. Wind turbines account for more than 4,500 megawatts, or around 22%, of the state’s generation capacity, making Minnesota a top 10 state for wind production.
The board counts the wind production tax among its most significant accomplishments. Large wind farms pay $1.20 per megawatt-hour of generation. Counties receive 80% of the revenue, with the remainder going to townships. A similar fee also exists for large solar projects.
The fee delivers millions of dollars annually, allowing local governments to construct buildings and repair bridges and roads without raising their levies for years. According to American Clean Power, Minnesota municipalities receive $44 million annually in taxes, and private landowners receive nearly $41 million in lease payments from wind and solar companies.
That has enabled counties to stave off opposition by pointing out that turbines and solar are economic development, according to Jason Walker, community development director for the Southwest Regional Development Commission, which manages the board, said the local government revenue generated from wind and solar projects has helped reduce opposition to projects.
“It’s all economic development here,” Walker said.
When opposition does emerge, such as around a recent 160 megawatt solar project in Rock County in the state’s far southwest corner, the board works with commissioners to make sure local leaders have factual information as opposed to misinformation.
Peder Mewis, regional policy director for the Clean Grid Alliance, praised the board for creating an information-sharing culture among members that helps prepare them for clean energy development. He said many developers appreciate that the region’s ordinances are similar because of the board, and that they have maintained good relationships with members over the years.
“There are other parts of the state that are thinking, ‘Is there something here that we could replicate or duplicate?’” Mewis said.
Jay Trusty, executive director of the Southwest Regional Development Commission, said the board plays an essential role in lobbying for state policy to support clean energy development. In addition to the production taxes, the board regularly defends the local distribution of those funds when lawmakers consider other uses for the revenue. The board more recently lobbied for changes to the state transmission permitting process, which were approved this year, and it supported an expansion for Xcel Energy’s CapX 2020 high-voltage transmission project before state utility regulators.
Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioner John Tuma recalled the board’s support for the state’s 2008 renewable energy standard, which gave Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty important rural support for signing the legislation.
“They bring an economic voice to the table,” Tuma said, adding that the board continues to be active in conversations about regional grid policies.
Nobles County Commissioner Gene Metz has served on the board for 12 years. The region’s decades of experience and collaboration on wind energy has helped make residents more comfortable with clean energy projects, he said, leading to fewer controversies.
In counties outside the board’s territory, “they’re getting more pushback, especially on solar projects,” he said.
Gene’s cousin, Chad Metz, serves as a commissioner in Traverse County, which is not a member and has a mortarium on clean energy projects. Chad Metz sees clean energy as inevitable and wants the county to join the rural energy board to protect its economic interests. “The benefits outweigh the negatives, and it will just become part of life,” he said.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Toyota announces plans to hire 1,600 additional workers and ship its first hybrid and electric vehicle batteries from a new North Carolina plant later this year. (Raleigh News & Observer)
ALSO:
GRID:
COAL: An analysis finds owners and operators of coal plants in 30 states are considering or have decided to delay their planned retirements to keep up with escalating power demand, driven largely by data centers. (Floodlight)
SOLAR:
OIL & GAS:
STORAGE: A company commissions two 100 MW battery storage facilities in Texas and sells the investment tax credits to a third party. (Renewables Now)
WIND: Trump promises to block new wind energy development despite its rapid expansion in Republican-led states like Texas, where it generates 22% of the state’s electricity. (New York Times)
UTILITIES: A judge delays Mississippi’s investigation of a troubled municipal utility to allow the city an opportunity to respond. (SuperTalk Mississippi Media)
POLITICS: A Virginia lawmaker files legislation to block state regulators from approving rate hikes for Appalachian Power for two years. (Bristol Herald Courier)
COMMENTARY: A new study finds Virginia will need to triple its energy production by 2040 to meet anticipated demand from data centers, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)
NUCLEAR: Eight current or former coal plant sites in Indiana could potentially host small modular nuclear reactors and help the state meet its growing energy demand, according to a new Purdue University study. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
PIPELINES: Minnesota regulators rescind a permit to rebuild a petroleum pipeline near a culturally significant site to tribes and will require the company to conduct an archeology study after pushback from several tribal nations. (Sahan Journal)
CLIMATE: A U.S. Senate committee is expected to next week consider Trump’s interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum, who championed carbon capture and storage while governor of North Dakota. (Washington Post)
SOLAR:
EMISSIONS: Coal and natural gas plants represent more than two-thirds of the facilities that release the most greenhouse gases across several Midwest states, according to an analysis of federal data. (WFYI)
UTILITIES:
BATTERIES: Western Michigan county officials pass a resolution withdrawing support for a large proposed battery manufacturing plant, citing public opposition to the plan. (WOOD-TV8)
POLITICS: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan takes the stand during his federal corruption trial, insisting he never traded his public office for private gain, including for former associates who allegedly got jobs at ComEd in exchange for favorable legislation. (Chicago Sun-Times)
WIND: President-elect Trump promises that “no new windmills” will be built in the U.S. once he takes office, despite the industry’s growth in GOP-leaning states like Iowa and his inability to control private-sector investments. (New York Times)
EFFICIENCY: Wisconsin starts rolling out programs for homeowners to secure energy efficiency rebates through the Inflation Reduction Act. (WCCO)
COMMENTARY:
FINANCE: The U.S. Treasury Department releases rules governing “technology-neutral” tax credits for solar, wind, geothermal and other clean energy projects, drawing praise from renewables advocates and criticism from the fuel cell and hydrogen industry. (New York Times, Axios)
ALSO: Six major U.S.-headquartered banks have so far quit an international net-zero alliance, with some observers blaming the exodus on incoming federal Republican leadership. (The Guardian)
COAL: An analysis finds owners and operators of coal plants in 30 states are considering or have decided to delay the facilities’ planned retirements to keep up with escalating power demand, driven largely by data centers. (Floodlight)
WIND:
ELECTRIFICATION:
OIL & GAS:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
POLITICS: A U.S. Senate committee is expected to next week consider Trump’s interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum, who championed carbon capture and storage while governor of North Dakota. (Washington Post)
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