Energy & Water

What is happening? Seattle has a pilot program for EV Chargers that drop down from utility poles. Each charging nest could cost the city $11,000 to $25,000 to install.

Why is this important? Offers EV charging for EV owners who don’t have garages and opens up industrial areas for EV charging.

How will this be important? Melrose, MA did a similar pilot and found it was challenging to find “good poles”- close enough to a curb on a street with ample room that trash trucks and emergency vehicles can maneuver around.

E&E News | The EV charger that drops from the sky

What is happening? There is a transformer supply chain problem. That’s going to hit grids, housing, EV chargers, and storm stricken communities.

Why is this important? There are reported wait times of 1+ years to get transformers, and costs have” skyrocketed from $3,000 to $4,000 per transformer before the shortage, to more than $20,000 each now. “

How will this be important? States are all considering how to fix supply chain issues. We should see which state(s) create an economic development program to lure transformer manufacturers.

Route Fifty | Electric Utilities Around the US are Running Out of Transformers

What is happening? Series C funding coming along for Voltstorage, a German company that is developing massive iron batteries that offer long-duration energy storage, thereby making wind and solar farms a highly cost-effective and resource-saving option for ensuring base load capability.

Why is this important? These batteries could displace natural gas reliance on the grid

How will this be important? “Iron-Salt technology is a highly temperature-resistant battery technology “

TechCrunch | Massive iron batteries could be key to displacing natural gas from the grid

GreenCar Congress | Cummins invests $24M in flow battery leader VoltStorage

What is happening? HB 1049 (2022 | NC) would prohibit free EV chargers unless a free gas & diesel pump was located next to it. The bill also pays for the EV charger removal at $50K a charger.

Why is this important? Free EV chargers are apparently harmful to those who don’t need them…?

How will this be important? As out there as this sounds, the concept is to protect oil and gas. Know any states where leaders want to protect the oil and gas industry?

Car and Driver | North Carolina Looks to Remove Public EV Chargers, Probably to the Trash

What is happening? States are trying to figure out how to help farmers during the current drought.

Why is this important?

• In UTAH. It is COVID Relief funds to the rescue. ” Utah Department of Agriculture and Food recently announced it is distributing $25.5 million to 140 recipients–including farmers and water conservancy districts.”
• In Kansas. It is water management planning on 5 year cycles so more water can be used in drought years and less in wet years.
• In Iowa it is a multi-agency approach to drought planning that includes Iowa Departments of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Homeland Security and Emergency Management 

How will this be important? Addressing food supply chain issues means helping farmers handle drought.

Route Fifty | How 3 States Are Trying to Help Their Farmers Deal With Drought

What is happening? A California non-profit is turning blighted properties into virtual power generators.

Why is this important? The non profit is taking dilapidated structures. Rebuilding. Adding the most energy efficient and energy producing equipment like energy-efficient lighting, an electric vehicle charger, an electric stove, electric heat pumps for heating and air conditioning, an internet-connected “smart thermostat,” solar panels, and a backup battery will allow future residents to keep the lights on and the refrigerator running during a power outage.

How will this be important? The House won’t go on the market, but will be affordable housing for elect first time home buyers.

Route Fifty | The Plan to Turn Blighted Houses into a New Source of Green Power for the Grid

What is happening? The California PUC adopted a submetering protocol to let EV owners be billed at lower rates for charging. This will allow electric vehicle owners to measure an EV’s energy use independently from their main utility meter through a technology known as submetering. 

Why is this important? This is the first time in the nation that EV charging sub metering is adopted.

How will this be important? The decision is said to becrucial to enable widespread Vehicle-Grid Integration 

California Public Utility Commission | CPUC Decision Makes California First State in the Nation To Allow Submetering of Electric Vehicles

What is happening? Convenience stores and truck stops are joining forces to say that certain electric vehicle charging policies will stymie investment in a network of charging station

Why is this important? These groups say demand charges that the Rocky Mountain Institute in 2017 study  showing demand charges could be responsible for over 90% of a charging station’s electricity costs. And, the ability of regulated utilities to own charging facilities in some states will keep private investment sidelined. Instead they say the goal should be to incentivize private investment.

How will this be important? “Retailers “have to recover all that expense but the utility does not because it’s been underwritten by all their other customers who are contributing. That distortion of the market is a problem, and a problem for private investment.” – Doug Kantor, general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Utility Dive | Retailers warn demand charges, utility competition could impede national EV charging network

What is happening? Offshore wind is expected to grow. Here’s where we are now:

• 8 states set goals that total 39 gigawatts of capacity by 2040
• 15 projects have reached the permitting phase, from North Carolina to Maine
• 10 coastal states considered 27 offshore wind bills in 2022
• 10 bills have passed so far in 2022

Why is this important? Many projects focus on local manufacturing so that the turbines are built locally.

How will this be important? Federal officials are expected to hold the first offshore wind lease sale in California waters this fall.

Governing | More States Back Offshore Wind, Citing Economic Potential

What is happening?  San Diego Gas & Electric partnered with V2G to offer a fleet of electric-powered school buses in El Cajon, California that can send electricity back to California’s grid.

Why is this important?  San Diego Gas & Electric also installed eight 60-kilowatt direct current fast chargers in the school district’s bus yard in El Cajon.

How will this be important? “This is another distributed energy resource that’s mobile, that’s on the road,” said Miguel Romero, SDG&E’s vice president of energy innovation. “There’s a significant amount of capacity in these batteries.”

Governing | California Town’s EV School Buses Return Electricity to the Grid

What is happening? Louisiana Legislature passed HB 267 (2022 | LA) that extends the eminent domain acquisition of the pore rights for underground CO₂ storage with a prohibition of third-party drilling through the storage reservoir & supports a biofuels project that will produce clean renewable diesel fuel using waste wood from managed, sustainable forestry as well as all its own green power.

Why is this important? This legislation was passed unanimously & supporters say it is an expansion of the current carbon capture legislation.

How will this be important? “I’m proud to have signed this bill into law,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “It advances our State’s climate initiative while bringing new opportunities for the traditional oil and gas industry and its workers. The Caldwell Parish project will bring significant economic benefits to the entire Northeastern Louisiana region.”

Biodiesel Magazine | Louisiana passes law benefiting Strategic Biofuels project

Business Wire | State of Louisiana Passes Parish-Specific Law Benefiting Strategic Biofuels Project

What is happening? Geothermal electric production produces power 75% of the time. Almost has much as nuclear’s 92% production rate. Currently 0.4% of power is generated by geothermal facilities in the U.S.

Why is this important? Lots of talk about the value of geothermal power.

How will this be important? Analyst at Power Sector Transformation program at Energy Innovation say geothermal power can compete with nuclear over time with innovation.

Governing | Nuclear Energy Has New Appeal as Climate Pressures Mount

What is happening? Nuclear Power in the U.S.:

• makes up 20% of the nation’s electricity
• 50% + of clean electrical power
• > (more than) all other emission-free sources combined
• 93 commercial reactors
• 28 states have commercial rectors
• 23 additional commercial reactors are in the process of decommissioning
• 92% of the time nuclear plants are producing power, much higher than wind or solar

Why is this important? By preserving nuclear power we are benefitting clean air initiatives. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $6 billion for a Civil Nuclear Credit Program to support plants at the highest economic risk of closure.

How will this be important? Nuclear plants are a money saver. California is decommissioning a plant, scientists studying the issue say in 10 years it would save California $2.6 B and if it operates beyond 2045, then it could be $21 billion in savings.

Governing | Nuclear Energy Has New Appeal as Climate Pressures Mount

What is happening? A Florida political news site was investigated by the Miami Herald for its support of Florida Light & Power recouping costs for underground lines as promoted by the political news site.

Why is this important? The Miami Herald says that the website was funded and controlled by executives of FL&P through a group of trusted intermediaries from an Alabama consulting firm. The political news site was essentially plucked from obscurity and used as a tool. The site didn’t want to look like a pay to play site because that was “icky.”

How will this be important? People are watching. Information is more readily available than anytime before.

Florida Utility Secretly Took Over a News Site to Bash Critics | Governing via McClatchy Washington Bureau

What is happening? Solar microgrids are keeping Ukrainian hospitals functioning.

Why is this important? Solar Microgrids can be flexibly be deployed during disasters

How will this be important? Because solar microgrids do not make noise, fumes and localized air pollution – they are optimal for temporary shelters where displaced residents may be temporarily living.

Reasons to be Cheerful | Solar Microgrids Are Keeping Ukraine’s Hospitals Running

What is happening? San Diego is looking to lower energy costs and is building 8 microgrids to save an estimated $6 million in energy costs over 25 years.

Why is this important? The microgrids are 930 kW of solar photovoltaic systems, 2175 MWh of battery storage, and multiple electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

How will this be important? The microgrids also help the city meet its goal of reducing electricity use by 25% of 2010 levels, and cutting carbon emissions in half by 2035.

@goodgoodgoodco

What is happening? This week in Texas, ERCOT issued a public statement on July 10 for Texans on conserving energy, and a Texas A&M Atmospheric Sciences Professor made statements about solving the situation with more solar.

Why is this important? The A&M professor made the following statements:

• ERCOT statement was intentionally misleading to Texans
• it is very normal to have a low amount of wind
• only one way to solve the problem of Texas’ power grid: Solar energy.
• Solar produces power when wind doesn’t and they tend to be anti-correlated. So if you want to have reliable power, you want to have wind and solar
• building more solar energy into the Texas power grid would reduce the cost of energy over
• wouldn’t be pollution in the air from solar energy

KBTX | Texas A&M professor speaks on ERCOT conservation plan

What is happening? South Carolina will require utility securitization to occur only if it results in lower costs for consumers. SB 1077 ( 2022 | SC)

Why is this important? South Carolina looked to Texas, Florida, Lousiana, and North Carolina for securitization models. The Legislature got the buy-in of the utilities.

How will this be important? At a time where inflation is on top of mind, adding more costs to consumers isn’t a winning messaging strategy. Securitization is a financing tool that can substantially lower costs for customers compared with traditional storm recovery methods.

T&D World | SC Law Could Help Electric Customers Save Money Spent to Restore Power After Storm Damage

What is happening? Rhode Island Governor signed legislation to accelerate 100% renewable energy so that its grid operates on 100% renewables by 2033/

Why is this important? Oregon is the next closest state by requiring retail electricity providers to reduce emissions by 100% by 2040

How will this be important?  10 states with a 100% renewable portfolio standard or clean energy standard, with most timelines between 2040 and 2050, according to NCSL

Houston Chronicle |  Rhode Island sets ambitious target for 100% renewable energy

What is happening? New York regulators denied a permit for a power plant that would have provided most of its power generation to a bitcoin mining facility.

Why is this important? The basis of the denial was that the “plant’s operation would be “inconsistent with the statewide greenhouse gas emission limits” established in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act”

How will this be important? Worldwide, bitcoin mining consumes as much electricity as the country of Argentina, with a population of 45 million

Governing | New York Denies Permit for Bitcoin-Mining Power Plant

What is happening? Boston Consulting Group says by 2035 80% of gas stations will be unprofitable.

Why is this important? Two policy considerations are linked to this (1) there will be more EVs charging and (2) the cost of cleaning up after gas stations.

How will this be important? Balancing these two policy considerations will be key in the next 12 years.

Route Fifty | The Push to Ban New Gas Stations is Coming to Los Angeles

What is happening? Microsoft is testing the use of a data center in Dublin, Ireland to serve as battery storage for the electric grid by supporting grids in need of more batteries to store energy produced by solar panels or wind farms.

Why is this important? Microsoft wants to provide backup power to electric grids transitioning to renewable energy. In 2021 Microsoft had 200 data centers. It announced it plans to build 50-100 new data centers per year.

How will this be important? The data centers’ lithium-ion batteries are part of the data center’s back up power or “uninterruptible power supply” (UPS) that usually only kicks in during an emergency. 

The Verge | Can Microsoft’s data centers become big batteries for the grid?

What is happening? Grid-scale energy storage installations quadrupled in the first quarter of 2022. It hit a high of 747 MW. IN 2021, Quarter 1, the total was 177 MW.

Why is this important? Large-scale storage is expected to reach 41 GWh by 2026, and residential battery installations are projected to reach 2.3 GWh by that same time year.

How will this be important? California leads the pack followed by Texas.

 U.S. Storage Monitor report published by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association

Utility Dive | Energy storage soars despite international and national supply challenges: report

What is happening? Annually the US Conference of Mayors meets and endorse a list of policies. This year’s policy endorsements include supporting renewable energy and battery storage.

Why is this important? The mayors say ““Renewable energy combined with energy storage provides financial stability for energy-burdened and energy-insecure households,”

How will this be important? Add energy equity to your vernacular.

Governing | Mayors Endorse an Array of Emerging Technologies

What is happening? 11 East Coast Governors and labor organizations have joined forces for wind power are partnering with the WhiteHouse to boost offshore wind generation. The 11 states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Why is this important? The partnership will expand to important parts of the offshore industry, including manufacturing facilities, ports and workforce training and development.

How will this be important? Biden has set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, enough to provide electricity to 10 million homes, support 77,000 jobs and spur $12 billion per year in private investment in offshore wind.

AP | Offshore wind boosted as Biden, East Coast governors team up

What is happening? The director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the the best way to ensure cyber threats are minimized is by public-private partnerships.

Why is this important? President and CEO of Duke Energy supports businesses participating in the federal platform, the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, to tackle real world cyber issues.

How will this be important?  shared responsibility means sharing, transmitting real time information with the FBI, CISA and others about the kinds of threats they are seeing

Daily Energy Insider | Utilities and public sector partner to combat cyber threats

What is happening? Before EV batteries get recycled they can be reused as battery storage

Why is this important? “Global investment in grid-scale batteries reached $6.8 billion in 2021, up from $4 billion in 2020, according to International Energy Agency estimates.”

How will this be important? By 2030 there will be 300 million EVs- lots of batteries that could see a second life as battery storage

WSJ | Old Electric-Vehicle Batteries Are Getting a Second Life

What is happening? Enchanted Rock is building the largest microgrid in California for Microsoft that will  use renewable natural gas (RNG) to offset fossil fuels. “Texas-based Enchanted Rock was one of the microgrid companies early out of the gate in using RNG, which allows developers to offer clean energy with the reliability of fossil fuels.”

Why is this important? The microgrid will be 100-MW and will include 224 natural gas generators, each with a 0.45 MW capacity

How will this be important? California is offering incentives- “covering up to 50% of an RNG project’s interconnection costs, with a cap of up to $1.5 million per project. The program is capped at $40 million statewide and has $10.5 million in incentive funding remaining, with nearly $50 million of applications in the queue, demonstrating the growing demand for RNG.”

Microgram Knowledge | Enchanted Rock to build California’s largest RNG microgrid for Microsoft

What is happening? 165,000 residents and businesses in Odessa Texas lost water when an aging water main broke. The City reacted quickly and informed its residents that ““I want to assure you that we’re utilizing every resource at our disposal to ensure that we get this community back to the way it was before this massive line break,” City Manager Michael Marrero. The City also began providing drinking water.

Why is this important? According to an Odessa resident, “I just hope that they kind of learned we need to get in there, we need to check these lines and repair those that show signs of age and wear and tear.”

How will this be important? Lessons for other local governments to learn

AP | Residents improvise as Texas city rushes to turn water on

What is happening? The Defense Production Act has been authorized to ramp up solar, hydrogen and heat pump production in the U.S., along with insulation and power grid components.

Why is this important? Some say this provides balance because of the volatility in the fossil fuel market.

How will this be important? The strategies will require stimulating demand for these products and funding targeted research to make these products cost effective and efficient.

Route Fifty | Why Biden Just Declared Heat Pumps and Solar Panels Essential to National Defense

What is happening? This week DOE released its strategies for a cyber resilient grid with ” once-in-a-generation investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law “

Why is this important? The goal is to reduce or eliminate cyber vulnerabilities by engineering them out.

How will this be important? The strategies to achieve this will be set by a multi-stakeholder working group, comprised of senior technical leaders from across government, industry, academia, and the DOE National Laboratories, to develop a new strategy to defend our nation’s energy infrastructure from cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and risks in the most critical industrial control systems

DOE | The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Strategy Document

What is happening? Ohio is considering SB307 (2022 | OH) which establishes EV credits and among other things would allow utilities to have rate payers pay for EV charger installations.

Why is this important? Ohio had a utility pilot project on EV charger subsidies for utilities, and now that provisions that allow for rate cases for EV charger installations, opposition is solidifying around the phrase ” Voltage Valley”

How will this be important? Opponents include consumers and gas companies that want to enter into the charging market.

Governing | Ohio May Place Electric Vehicle Charging Costs onto Customers

What is happening? This is the Attorney General’s 2nd opinion on the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act that prohibits giving access to critical infrastructure to a certain foreign-owned companies (Korea, China, Russia, et. al.)

Why is this important? The first opinion said the Act is triggered if there is an “interconnection agreement between a transmission service provider and an electricity generator that was a wholly or majority-owned subsidiary of a Chinese-headquartered corporation. See Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. No. KP-0388 (2021) at 3.”

How will this be important? This opinion says providing power to a factory for the factory own use does not appear to trigger the Infrastructure Protection Act.

Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP- 0410 (2022)

What is happening? Consumers of energy, in this case businesses, are speaking up about grid reliability because businesses want continuity with everything, including power.

Why is this important? Data Centers and Supply Chain Management are global issues now. Add this to the list of things that have changed since COVID.

How will this be important? Retailers world wide are looking at Uninterruptible Power Supplies to keep the power on when even minor disruptions occur.

Computer Weekly | Grid stability and the risk it poses to the retail sector and its datacentres

What is happening? New York legislators are easing off a bill that would have grown its renewable sector because ” Reliability margins on New York’s electric grid are shrinking as more fossil fuel generators retire and non-dispatchable renewables are added, the state’s Independent System Operator”

Why is this important? In New York retirements of generation systems are outpacing new sources and that is impacting reliability margins.

How will this be important? The Independent System Operator also said that by 2040 10% of power sources will come from sources unknown today.

Utility Dive | New York lawmakers abandon bill to grow renewables as state’s grid operator warns margins tightening

What is happening? Leila Hajibabai, assistant professor in the industrial and systems engineering department at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of a paper on the work in Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering writes about a computational model that locates the best locations for EV chargers without burdening the grid.

Why is this important? The model finds locations that will be “serving the greatest number of people without taxing the power system.”

How will this be important? The model accounts for “the limitations of the power distribution network—its power flow, voltage, current, and so on.” Often the best place for EV chargers for the grid and the best place for drivers don’t align, the model finds ways to meet both competing interests.

Route Fifty | What’s the Best Place For an Electric Vehicle Charging Station?

What is happening? Japan is testing deep sea turbines. 330 ton turbines are anchored to the sea floor at a depth of 30-50 meters 

Why is this important? It would be a new source of renewable power.

How will this be important? Deep sea renewable power would not require sun nor wind.

@bloombergbusiness

What is happening? NoNa desalination system is smaller than a case of water and runs on less power than a cell phone and uses a sole panel and electricity to remove salt and bacteria from water.

Why is this important? Imagine access to a portable desalination system during a hurricane that has knocked water plants offline.

How will this be important? Rapid deployment of portable desalination during emergencies.

@MIT Sloan School

What is happening? U.S. Department of Energy is offering $8 million “in funding to support projects that will improve the flexibility of the U.S. hydropower fleet and enhance electric grid reliability.”

Why is this important? “The hydropower fleet is well suited to help integrate more renewable energy while ensuring the electric grid remains reliable and resilient,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Kelly Speakes-Backman. 

How will this be important? One of the funded projects will focus on storage. “Oregon State Univeristy will demonstrate and quantify the value of a hybrid hydroelectric-storage generation unit, which combines a hydropower unit that does not have storage capability with supercapacitors. This project will involve the construction of a 200 kW lab-based hybrid hydroelectric-storage generation unit that will serve as a testbed for performance analysis and model validation.”

DOE | U.S. Department of Energy Announces $8 Million for Technologies to Increase Hydropower Flexibility

What is happening? Regulators in New York, Arkansas and Florida are looking to electric utility fiber optic lines as a means to bring broadband to rural areas.

Why is this important? The fiber optic lines already exist which regulators see as a bonus. Electric coops in Arkansas see it as an opportunity as they banded together to form a new wholesale broadband provider.

How will this be important? The New York Power Authority sees broadband over fiberoptic as a way to “maximize the use of our equipment, share our technical expertise and strengthen our customer relationships all to benefit more New Yorkers, “

Route Fifty | States Look to Electric Utilities for Broadband Connections

What is happening? Missouri has been trying to pass an eminent domain bill to prohibit the use of eminent domain for a transmission project that would carry electricity through the state but the state would neither generate or receive any of the power. HB 2005 (2022 | MO)

Why is this important? A compromise included a compensation rate of 150% of the market value and would require the energy company to drop electricity in the state.

How will this be important? The bill will apply to all future projects.

Missouri Times | Bean’s property rights bill passes Senate

What is happening? Local governments in California are adopting building codes that support electrification and eliminate the use of natural gas. These policies are hitting a brick wall with the infrastructure to support it.

Why is this important? Berkeley’s transformers and distribution lines are being challenged to withstand the increased electric use. The infrastructure was built before the homes had A/C and certainly not as many electronics or electric cars.

How will this be important? “Modernizing the entire grid, quickly, is cheaper in the long run, but there’s a big upfront cost: about $160 million, by one preliminary estimate. If financed over 30 years at an interest rate of 3.2 percent, it would cost about $11 million a year.”

Governing | California’s Grid Isn’t Ready for Fully Electrified Homes

What is happening? Get to know the term charging deserts- it is used for rural areas that do not have access to EV chargers.

Why is this important? It’s an infrastructure and a charger situation and there’s a push to close the gap. Considerations include is there proper infrastructure to power EV chargers and site selection for chargers.

How will this be important? Ultimately the question will be is it cost prohibitive for private companies to install chargers in charing deserts or will state or federal fund be required.

Utility Dive | Closing the gap on rural EV ‘charging deserts’

What is happening? The Houston neighborhood of Sunnyvale is turning a landfill into the largest urban solar farm in the US.

Why is this important? The Sunnyvale solar project will partner with energy companies to sell electricity from its 150,000 solar panels, enough to power 5,000 to 10,000 homes.

How will this be important? Construction is set to being in 2022. Operations set to being in 2023. The landfill began operations in the 1930s. During the landfills tenure 82% of Houston’s trash was dumped at the landfill. The organization behind the project hopes to “negotiate a small percentage of revenue from the commercial solar array to fund projects benefiting Sunnyside, such as reducing the cost of home solar panels.” 

Houston Chronicle | Sunnyside moves step closer toward turning deadly landfill into nation’s largest urban solar farm

What is happening? Enterprise Product Partners and Occidental Petroleum are partnering to establish a carbon dioxide sequestration and transportation system to sell carbon management services to emitters along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Why is this important? The $1 billion facility could remove 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide directly from the air

How will this be important? carbon capture projects are on track to increase 10 fold by 2030 according to Norwegian Rested Energy.

Houston Chronicle | Enterprise, Oxy plan CO2 project along Texas Gulf Coast

What is happening? A large scale crypto mining facility in Iowa is located near a town of 2800. The crypto mining site’s 1,900 computers mines $17 per day. That’s $32,000 a day. The power bill is $5000 per day, 4.05 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Why is this important? The investors in this mining operation want to open 5 more in Iowa because of the affordable power. The cooperative’s electricity sales to large commercial and industrial customers more than doubled from 16.5 million kilowatt-hours in 2018 to 36.9 million kilowatt-hours in 2020.

How will this be important? last fall China stopped crypto mining which moved miners out into other countries, including the US.

Governing | Iowa Bitcoin Mining Facility Uses More Power Than Town Residents

What is happening? Ørsted, the Danish company set to install the Garden State’s first offshore wind farm. They will partner with Newark-based PSEG. The details:

• New Jersey if putting $500 Million into the project.
•  Ocean Wind 1 project was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in June 2019
•  6 companies bid a combined $4.37 billion for the right to build wind energy projects on the ocean floor off New Jersey and New York in the U.S. government’s largest such auction 
• Ocean Wind will provide 1,100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 500,000 homes
• A 2nd related facility in Paulsboro on the Delaware River in southern New Jersey to build the huge poles supporting wind turbines.

Why is this important? The agreement includes Ørsted  using a state-financed manufacturing port to build the components of the offshore wind farm

How will this be important? Ports are setting carbon neutral time tables. We know Long Beach is and Houston set carbon neutral goals just last month.

AP | Orsted will use NJ Wind Port to build offshore wind farm

What is happening? City Council approved a change in fee structure for water violations that will benefit residential customers.

Why is this important? 97% of fine recipients have been commercial operations- irrigators and car washes that fail to report as required. In lieu of a $250 initial fine for homeowners, a first violation will be $25, then $50 and then $200-300. For Commerical offenders the fines will be $500 for first violation and then $750.

How will this be important? Since December 2020 the city has not fines residences and in stead has focused on education.

KXAN | Austin City Council votes to increase penalties for companies wasting water

What is happening? Colorado’s House Bill 22-1218 will require  new commercial buildings above a certain size to have electric vehicle charging for at least 10% of their parking spaces. New multifamily apartment buildings would require electric vehicle charging infrastructure for 20% of their parking spaces.

Why is this important? The bill also requires expanded electric capacity to expand electric vehicle charging to more parking spaces in the future.

How will this be important? Republican opposition included: “That is a cost the utilities have to pick up, and that is a cost that has to go across to everybody,” Pico said on the House floor. “It pulls an additional cost on the utilities that all of us will have to pay, whether you have an electric car or not.”

Colorado Newsline | EVs are coming to Colorado. This bill would require charging stations at new large buildings.

What is happening? Florida Power & Light is the first electric utility to deploy drone-in-a-box by Austin TX based Percepto, a pioneering autonomous inspection by industrial robotics.

Why is this important? Florida Light & Power will introduce hundreds of Percepto drones to monitor the utility’s distribution substations over approximately the next five years. These drones have passed testing for Category 5 Hurricanes.

How will this be important? Autonomous grid reliability and resiliency inspections are crucial during disasters.

Percepto unveils world’s largest autonomous commercial drone deployment at leading US electric utility

What is happening? McKinsey Public and Social Sector Practice is recommending State Infrastructure Czars to assist in coordination of infrastructure projects.

Why is this important? Allocation of the $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure law and that adds an additional layer of complexity for state agencies as the funds are mixed from direct funds to grants and loans. “Officials will likely need to navigate a complex set of approvals and stakeholders to deliver new builds and upgrades, all while integrating innovative technologies and managing cost with strained supply chains and the new Buy America requirements,” the McKinsey authors continued.

How will this be important? To obtain different types of funding the applicant could be a state agency, a local government, or a utility. The coordination of the infrastructure czars would help obtain funding and streamline projects so that roads are torn up one day for 1 thing and another day for another.

Route Fifty | Making the Case for State Infrastructure Czars

What is happening? Colorado is the 1st state moving toward statewide waste water surveillance. For Texans, Harris county has surveyed its wastewater through the pandemic.

Why is this important? 50% of people with COVID will shed RNA in feces without regard to whether the person has any symptoms of COVID. Colorado is putting the data on a public dashboard.

How will this be important? Epidemiologists say wastewater can offer an early warning sign about where covid spread is highest. It’s cost effective. Was successful overseas in the fight against polio, and has been successful in Colorado universities where dorms waste is surveyed, when rates are high students are tested and infected students isolated, thereby slowing rapid spread of COVID.

Colorado Public Radio via Route Fifty | Colorado Moves Toward Statewide Coverage of Wastewater Surveillance

What is happening? In a legislative gamesmanship move, bills filed in New Hampshire look to take action before a Utility Commission sanctioned report on fair net metering rates can be made public.

Why is this important? One bill, HB 1629 (2022 | NH) , cuts the net metering rate to make it equal to the whole sale rate which renewables say harms the renewables industry. Another bill, HB 1599 (2022 | NH) , makes larger scale projects of net metering, above 1MW more lucrative.

How will this be important? Process is what is important here- do agreed to, utility commission sanctioned studies have merit, or do legislators do what they want without data collected by the utility regulator.

Energy News Network | New Hampshire legislation aims to preempt state’s net-metering study

What is happening? A Texas A& M researcher discovered the use of satellite imagery to compliment ground based research.

Why is this important? Satellite images can detect flow patterns and temperatures that help better understand water sources.

How will this be important? The goal is to “build a next generation computer model for predicting pollution levels in rivers across the United States.”

kiiitv | Texas A&M professor spearheads water quality initiative with NASA

What is happening? Scientists at Stanford discovered that the temperature differential as solar panels cool at night can be captured and converted into energy with a thermoelectric generator.

Why is this important? The thermoelectric generator could eliminate the need for battery storage.

How will this be important? A thermoelectric generator could be very helpful in rural areas where battery storage may not be economically feasible.

@worldeconomicforum

What is happening? Cleco is building a carbon capture facility in central Louisiana.

Why is this important? It’s a $900M project, creating 1000s of construction jobs and 30-40 full time operational jobs

How will this be important? Fully operational in 2028, it will “reduce the carbon emissions at Cleco’s Madison 3 power plant by 95 percent by capturing it and sequestering it in 4,000 feet below in geological formations”

Governing | Carbon Capture Project Will Create Over 1,000 jobs in Louisiana

What is happening? California is looking to curb its current drought bot by reducing water use but by recycling wastewater and capturing stormwater.

Why is this important? Currently California recaptures or recycles 23% of its water.

How will this be important? A study says recycling and capturing can save 30% of California water. Recapturing storm water could result in, depending on rainfall, between 580,000 and 3 million acre-feet of stormwater in urban areas.

Governing | California Could Shrink Water Use in Cities by 30% or More

What is happening? Wells Fargo named its first Chief Sustainability Officer.

Why is this important? Wells Fargo’s CSO will ” set interim financed emission targets for its oil, gas and power portfolios by the end of 2022.”

How will this be important? In 2021, Wells Fargo became the last of the six largest U.S. banks to commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

Utility Dive | Wells Fargo names its first chief sustainability officer

What is happening? ERCOT Market Notice will require certain disclosure for connectivity for large load users.

Why is this important? Cryptomining…Crypto miners draw a lot of load. But the disclosures apply to all large electric users.

How will this be important? ERCOT also has a task force that will make recommendations on crypto mining.

What is happening? The ALEC legislation states ” “Banks are increasingly denying financing to creditworthy fossil energy companies solely for the purpose of decarbonizing their lending portfolios and marketing their environmental credentials.”

Why is this important? So far in 2022,  West Virginia, Oklahoma,  Louisiana, and Indiana have all introduced ALEC’s legislation.

How will this be important? This may be like cigarette companies arguing against advertising bans as the health and safety issues can be viewed as analogous.

ALEC | Setting the Record Straight: The Energy Discrimination Elimination Act

Clean Technica | ALEC Sponsors Laws That Punish Corporations For Fossil Fuel Boycotts

What is happening? For the first time in the US, solar panels are being deployed to help stop water source loss due to evaporation.

Why is this important? California is deploying solar panels over its canals. India has been using this technology.

How will this be important? Not only could the solar panels lower evaporation, thereby retaining more water, but the panels could also “create improvements to water quality through reduced vegetative growth; reduce canal maintenance as a result of reduced vegetative growth; and of course, generate renewable electricity.”

Electrek | In a US first, California will pilot solar-panel canopies over canals

What is happening? We know Ford is marketing its new EV truck as able to power a home for 3 days on a single charge.

Why is this important? Let’s look at KW residential use and vehicle batteries:

• Ford says it can add back 2.4 KW, upgradable to 9.6 KW
  • This is about on par with a Tesla Power Wall
  • This would run 8-10 refrigerators for a few days
  • This would run a house for a few days

How will this be important? EVs could peak shave and allow a home owner to use power from their EV during peak hours instead of high rate peak electricity

Route Fifty | Can My Electric Car Power My House?

What is happening? Bidirectional charging is the hot new topic for EVs. Meaning the EV can add power back, not just take power to charge.

Why is this happening? EV sales keep increasing and demand for bidirectional charging is increasing. The numbers:

• 2021 EV sales doubled previous year
• 2022 EV sales are expected to double again to 1.2 million

How will this be important? Ford is marketing its new EV truck to power your house for 3 days on a single charge- especially key to states like TX and CA which have seen power disruptions.

Route Fifty | Can My Electric Car Power My House?

What is happening? A coalition of Congressional members and the West Virginia Governor joined forces for the state to apply for federal DOE funds to create a hydrogen hub.

Why is this important? Opponents say 3 things:

• plan to cut emissions from carbon-intensive goods like cement and steel would waste taxpayer subsidies
• Hydrogen Hub is an uneconomic technology
• Hydrogen Hub will fail to adequately cut carbon emissions

How will this be important? DOE wants to create at least 4 HUBs. WVA pointed to its 4,000 miles of pipelines, geologic potential to store carbon dioxide in deep rock formations, and deep fossil fuel legacy support it being a Hydrogen hub.

Charleston Gazette via Governing | West Virginia Steps Toward Hydrogen Hub Despite Criticism

What is happening?  500 leading academics, climate experts, and university members primarily from the US and the UK are asking their universities to lead the way in championing fossil-free climate research

Why is this important? Some Univeristy research is funded by fossil fuel companies and these 500, and others, say the fossil fuel funds create an air of pay to play

How will this be important? Let’s look at this as divestment 2.0, divesting universities from paid research that may direct the research outcome

The Nation | Climate Research Shouldn’t Be Funded by Fossil Fuel Companies

What is happening? The “2022 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook” published today by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) says that close to 4.2 GW of battery capacity was added to the US grid in 2021

Why is this important? The 2021 battery capacity is greater than all previous years combined

How will this be important? The growth in battery storage is tied to the increase in clean energy.

Electric | 3 record-breaking things that happened with EVs, clean energy, and battery storage in 2021

What is happening? The US Department of Energy is investing $4M to explore the potential of energy storage technologies to shrink the carbon footprint of existing fossil fuel plants.

Why is this important? The Electric Power Research institute says that this storage potential creates a pathway for these assets to be transitioned from fossil fuels to storage 

How will this be important? The goal is to help existing power resources to be the most efficient and effective. Investments include sand thermal energy storage pilot design, a steel-concrete composite hydrogen energy storage prototype that can be integrated into coal and gas-powered electricity plants, & a hydrogen storage demonstration

Utility Dive | DOE eyes hydrogen, thermal storage to shrink carbon footprint of fossil fuel plants

What is happening? Rice University researchers used “optimization modeling to identify the least-cost combination of proposed wind and solar projects, all with the potential to replace coal-fired power generation in Texas.”

Why is this important? They concluded that wind and solar could replace nearly all of Texas’ coal output.

How will this be important? To get to this point, the state would need to expand transmission lines that connect the windiest and sunniest parts of the state to cities.

The Hill | Texas has enough wind and solar power to replace coal almost entirely

What is happening? A Texas A&M research team published a study in iScience Journal concerning demand response that counters the idea that large population centers should be the primary target.

Why is this important? The Texas A&M researchers found that “focusing on a few strategic locations across the state outside of those high-population areas is much more cost-effective and can have a greater impact on the price volatility of the grid. A machine learning algorithm is utilized to strategically select these demand response locations based on a synthetic Texas grid model.”

How will this be important? The researchers’ goals are to ” hopefully reduce the price volatility of the grid, which we believe would be best for society.”

Texas A&M Today | Targeted Demand Response Reduces Price Volatility Of Electric Grid

What is happening? Florida wants to be the leader for waste to energy programs. SB 1764 (2022 | FL) will create a municipal solid waste-to-energy program within the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to offer financial assistance for power purchase agreements (PPAs) & incentive grants for capacity expansion to publicly-owned waste combustion facilities.

Why is this important? Florida has limited land and high population growth leaving little land available for landfills.

How will this be important? Florida began these programs in the 1970s and then facilities began to retire, but what is old is new again.

Utility Dive | Florida poised to solidify its status as the nation’s waste-to-energy capital with supportive new legislation

What is happening? ForthMobility, a nonprofit in the EV Charger space, says “states that require or encourage electric utilities to invest in transportation electrification can leverage federal funds for much greater impact.”

Why is this important? States have access to $5 billion formula program called the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure corridor charging program (NEVI) and through a $2.5 billion discretionary grant program. 

How will this be important? The timeline for these federal funds is quick with initial plans due in May.

CleanTechnica | 8 Key Steps For States To Prepare For The EV Charging Boom

What is happening? Bicycle lobbyists in Colorado are looking to a 2014 agreement between Centerpoint and the City of Houston to support bike trails under power lines.

Why is this important? That 2014 agreement is said to so difficult to implement the Texas Legislature streamlined it, and now Colorado wants to build upon this thought process.

How will this be important? Landowners are concerned in Colorado that they will be liable for bicycle accidents on the path, and further landowners are agreeing to transmission lines, not to people on trails cutting through their property.

CPR News | Colorado is about to rapidly expand its transmission network. Should it double as a bike highway system?

What is happening? We now have information concerning energy use for 2 new bitcoin miners in Texas. Let’s look:

• Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative Inc., Service Area Bitcoin Mine
  • Each mine will require $20 million to fortify power lines and avert blackouts
  • Will consume as much energy as 60,000 homes
  • Researchers say mining adds $8 for individual utility bills, and $12 for small businesses
  • Global crypto mining uses as much electricity as powering every light in the U.S.- twice

Why is this important? The 3 factor helping bitcoin mining companies: little regulation, affordable electricity & a political leadership wanting Texas to become an epicenter of crypto mining.

How will this be important? China ceased crypto mining in the fall of 2021. All those mining companies need a home. ERCOT members will vote this month on creating a task force to understand how many mines will connect to the grid and how fast.

Government Technology | Bitcoin Mining Threatens to Further Strain Texas’ Electric Grid

The Street | In Texas, an Influx of Crypto Miners May Mean Higher Electricity Bills for Consumers

What is happening? California enacted AB 525 (2021 | CA) to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind that sets “the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits,” as well as create 2030 and 2045 offshore wind planning goals.

Why is this important? We’ve talked about big offshore wind projects by states in New England and Louisiana. Offshore wind is gaining ground.

How will this be important? The generation goals for California’s offshore wind are 3 GW of offshore wind by 2030, 10 GW by 2040 and 20 GW by 2050.

Utility Dive | California clean energy advocates urge regulators to ‘go big’ with offshore wind goals

What is happening? Minnesota wants to set ground rules for battery energy storage. HF 1651 and SF 1674

Why is this important? The authors goals are to  promote the deployment of energy storage systems by both utilities and customers; fund construction from the state’s Renewable Development Account;  interconnection between storage systems and distribution facilities; compensation for storage system owners putting electricity back onto the grid; requiring utilities to have energy storage systems in their resource planning; and require the deployment of energy storage systems at applicable substations for those replacing feeder lines.

How will this be important? To quote one of the authors “energy storage is the next big thing”

Minnesota House of Representatives | With renewable energy storage in infancy, House panel looks at bill laying out state standards

What’s happening? A bill in California, AB 1814 (2022 | CA) would allow Community Choice Aggregators to participate in EV Charger Incentive programs.

Why is this important? Community Choice Aggregators are permissible in 8 states and allow municipal utilities to buy certain electric from an investor owned utility.

How will this be important? The author of the bill says that Community Choice Aggregators, due to their relationship with municipalities, are uniquely positioned to craft EV Charger plans.

CALCCA | California Assemblymember Tim Grayson Introduces Bill to Accelerate Local/Regional Transportation Electrification 

What is happening? We’ve chatted about how California (hello, SB 1383) became the first state in the nation to address this issue.

Why is this important. Methane has 90x as much impact on warming as an equal amount of CO2. The biogas produced from food waste can turn into electricity, heat, steam, vehicle fuel, bio methane & compost.

How will this be important?

• In 2021, 5 bills across 18 states
• Tennessee and Washington, and Los Angeles and Madison, Wisconsin, have created food waste task forces.
• Maryland requires food facilities producing more than two tons of food waste a week to separate it from other waste and divert it from landfills
• New Jersey passed a law that requires producers of food waste such as hospitals, prisons, restaurants and supermarkets recycle food garbage rather than send it to incinerators or landfills.
• Vermont has close to a full ban on organic waste in landfills
• Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington have passed bills to keep food out of landfills

Governing | It’s Time America Stopped Throwing Out Food Waste

What’s happening? The Arizona Legislature passed legislation that permitted a solar company to increase rates for customers by 65%. A federal court found anti-trust laws applied. As a result, the Legislature is considering a repeal of the law. HB 2101 (2022 | AZ)

Why is this important? “the Arizona legislature is poised to rescind the state’s law favoring competition in electricity generation and supply, a law that was central to the appeals court’s antitrust finding”

How will this be important? The Arizona chapter of the national solar association SEIA, is opposed because it says the 65% rate increase will be allowed to stand. The opposition letter

PV-Magazine | Arizona Senate controls the fate of Phoenix anti-solar rate

What is happening? Minnesota is considering SF 1674 (2022 | MN )

Why is this important? The author is proposing ground rules for the deployment of storage technologies. This includes “specific directives to the Public Utilities Commission about interconnection between storage systems and distribution facilities; compensation for storage system owners putting electricity back onto the grid; and requiring utilities to have energy storage systems in their resource planning. “

How will this be important? Let’s watch the amendment game and see where this takes us.

Minnesota House of Representatives | With renewable energy storage in infancy, House panel looks at bill laying out state standards

What’s happening? R Street Institute is writing about 10 electricity reforms that can improve the economy & the environment.

Why is this important? Here’s there list of reforms:

• Redefine “good utility practice” to incorporate grid-enhancing technologies 
• Reduce artificial barriers to entry in generator interconnection
• Bolster regional transmission planning, cost allocation, oversight and competition
• Overhaul interregional transmission planning
• Remove barriers to electric commodity market innovation and liquidity
• Make competitive generation the law of the land
• Strengthen competitive rules for affiliate transactions
• Enable nationwide retail choice
• Require granular emissions transparency
• Eliminate price controls on state policy

How will this be important? The goal appears to be to reach a consensus on climate and clean air by lowering costs, increasing innovation and slashing emissions.

R Street | Ten Congressional Electricity Reforms to Improve the Economy and Environment

What is happening? West Virginia House is voting on a bill that would allow non-utility electric generating facilities to operate in any zoning area. HB 4553 (2022 | WV)

Why is this important? Supporters call it an economic development tool & opponents say it removes local control.

How will this be important? The interesting part of this debate is the amendment process. Amendments could guide other legislations like:

• exclude wind from being able to operate anywhere
•  limit electric generating facilities as a permitted use to counties that adopt partial or total zoning
•  limit exempt facilities to those that use coal, natural gas or nuclear power to generate electricity

Charleston Gazette via Governing | State Votes on Non-Utility Electric Facilities in All Zones

What is happening? CO, WY, NM and Utah signed a Memorandum of Understanding to compete jointly for a portion of the $8 billion allocated in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the development of regional clean hydrogen hubs

Why is this important? NM had declared itself a clean hydrogen hub. Nearby in TX, the Port of Corpus Christi is leaning in to hydrogen hub.

How will this be important? An RFP that the U.S. Department of Energy is expected to release in May 2022

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham | New Mexico, coalition of mountain west states sign MOU to develop a regional clean hydrogen hub

What is happening? Deloitte’s 2022 energy brief reveals:

• 48 out of 55 US large investor-owned utilities had committed to reduce carbon emissions
• 3 of 4 customer accounts are served by an entity with a 100% carbon reduction target
• 24 utility parent companies have adopted voluntary carbon-reduction targets
  • 20 of the 24 opted for 100% carbon reduction goals
• 40% carbon emission reduction since 2005 by electric utilities

Why is this important? 60% of US electricity is still generated by carbon-emitting sources

How will this be important? New generation is largely wind and solar, accounting for 86% of new generation for the first 8 months of 2021

Deloitte 2022 Power

What is happening? Wisconsin is considering SB 573 (2022 | WI) that would allow private entities to own EV charges and bill for their use.

Why is this important? Billing for charging can be either by amount of electricity or by amount of time. Billing for amount of time disadvantages cars with slower charging.

How will this be important? The State’s municipal league now opposes the bills since it can no longer install EV chargers in public or municipally owned spaces.

WPR | Wisconsin bill reveals fight over control, profit over electric vehicles

What is happening? Wisconsin is considering a package of bills that would establish rules of EV chargers.

Why is this important? The bills have a series of amendments that are catching people’s attention much like the way a skunk catches your attention. The amendments:

•  ban government entities from owning or leasing charging stations
• require chargers to use electricity that comes from utilities — not from on-site solar installations

How will this be important? Only five states — Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia — have adopted policies restricting EV charging station ownership beyond utilities.   

Wisconsin Public Radio | Wisconsin bill reveals fight over control, profit over electric vehicles

What is happening? The California Coastal Commission will vote on a seawater desalination plant in Huntington Beach, California. The vote could cap the 15 year permitting process. IT would mean California will have permitted seawater desalination plants.

Why is this important? Supporters say it will provide a reliable water supply & is a part off the solution, not the entire solution. Opponents say the technology has improved, but saltwater desalination uses more energy than any other type of water source, can impact marine life, and has led to increased water rates.

How will this be important? We’ll see which way permitting falls, a third thought group is that reusing grey water (showers, dishwashers) and collecting rain water could be more effective with a smaller carbon footprint.

Route Fifty | A Parched West Remains Divided on Desalinating Seawater

What is happening? Indiana Legislature is considering HB 1221 (2022 | IN ) which was amended to include a requirement that businesses that sell electric vehicle charging to get their energy from their local utility.

Why is this important? Some states allow utility ownership, some do not, some allow rate base recoupment of EV charger expenses, some do not. Indiana’s bill would allow rate base recoupment of costs for public charging stations but will require those utilities to give lower-income communities and racially or ethnically diverse communities equal access to chargers installed as part of a pilot program

How will this be important? New territory for policymakers across the country. Add to it the concerns of security experts that data security isn’t as high as it should be for EV chargers and it’s a policy wonk Christmas tree.

WFYI | Groups worry amendment in EV charging bill gives utilities an unfair advantage

What is happening? It wasn’t more than couple weeks ago when we talked about Indiana reversing course on nuclear power to welcome micro reactors and more. Now Congress is having hearings and Nebraska, Wyoming, West Virginia and Iowa seem to be on board too.

Why is this important? Nuclear can supplement renewables as policy makers shift away from fossil fuels. LD84 (2022 | NE) would allow a renewable firm to seek incentives for a nuclear project.

How will this be important? Nebraska Public Power CEO says ““Carbon has business risks as we look to the future.””

Omaha World Herald | Could Nebraska and Iowa go nuclear as part of shift away from fossil fuels?

NPR | Coal-dependent West Virginia eliminates ban on nuclear power

What is happening? 2% to 10% of a cryptomining revenue is from grid services and demand flexibility

Why is this important? Texas is being heralded as the new epicenter of cryptomining

How will this be important? In 5 years the electric load for crypto mining will reach 10,000MW. “Those bullish on Bitcoin say energy demand could triple or quadruple in the coming years.”

Utility Dive | Bitcoin mining as a grid resource? ‘It’s complicated.’

What’s happening? In Florida the Legislature is considering this: “Should the state’s investor-owned utilities — FPL, Duke and Tampa Electric — own the charging stations or should gas stations and charging manufacturers be allowed to compete?”

Why is this important? Legislative answers include HB 737 (2022 | FL) that calls for neutral treatment of EV chargers that would end the current rate based payment that allows utilities to recoup EV charge costs.

How will this be important? Supporters include gas stations, Chargepoint EV charger operators, and they say the current rate base oppresses the ability for other participants to enter the market and makes people pay for the system that do not use the system

Miami Herald via Governing | Will Gas Stations or Utilities Be Responsible for EV Chargers?

What’s happening? DOE and DOT are telling states that to access the available $5B in EV funding, they need EV infrastructure plans in place

Why is this important? “each state is required to submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan to the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation that describes how the state intends to use its share of NEVI Formula Program funds consistent with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance.”

How will this be important? The quicker the EV infrastructure plans, the quicker the access to funding.

President Biden, USDOT and USDOE Announce $5 Billion over Five Years for National EV Charging Network, Made Possible by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

What is happening? Massachusetts and New York coasts will soon be home to the first federally approved utility-scale offshore wind farms – 74 turbines in all that could power 470,000 homes

Why is this important?  marine geophysicists are working to pair wind turbines with carbon capture technology to store carbon it in natural reservoirs under the ocean. Currently the largest project of this type is in Iceland.

How will this be important? The offshore wind carbon capture would use excess wind energy to power the capture and storage of carbon

The Conversation via Governing | Offshore Wind Farms Could Help Capture Carbon from Air and Store It Long Term – Using Energy That Would Otherwise Go to Waste

What’s happening? The American Clean Power Association says 2 wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of LA and TX are estimated to create 17,5000 jobs during the 3 year construction timeline and 2,800 permanent positions.

Why is this important? Most action will be in LA ports as ” the Port of Houston has space limitations and is already congested with ship traffic”

How will this be important? “The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to begin leasing the Gulf’s deep waters for offshore wind projects by 2025. Turbines could be spinning in the Gulf by 2028.” Hello TX Lege you’ve got 1 full regular session for this.

The Times-Picayune via Governing | Gulf of Mexico Wind Farms Could Create 17,500 New Jobs

What’s happening? NM Legislature isn’t moving the Governor’s Hydrogen Hub Bill that would have New Mexico draw down some of the $8 billion for the industry included in the massive federal infrastructure bill 

Why is this important? NM’s Hydrogen bill has the support of the oil & gas industry & will also increase natural gas production.

How will this be important? Consider the NM opposition coalition of environmentalists, progressives, indigenous tribes, and legislators who thought the bill was too complicated and too costly with no known return of the state.

Governing | Lawmakers Stifle N.M. Governor’s Clean Hydrogen Economy Plan

What’s happening? New Mexico’s HB 4 (2022 | NM) , the Hydrogen Hub Development Act, would have offer tax incentives to fossil fuel companies and other industries developing projects using hydrogen to lower carbon emissions. The bill stalled.

Why is this important? The persuasive message was that the bill is an offer of tax incentives to energy companies and other industries developing projects using hydrogen to lower carbon emissions.

How will this be important? Is it environmental opposition or opposition to corporate incentives?

Carlsbad Current Argus | Lawmakers table bill to expand hydrogen power in NM amid environmental concerns

What’s happening? A new geothermal group, Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance, is bringing together oil & gas and utilities. Member companies include Chevron, CenterPoint Energy, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Repsol and Sage Geosystems.

Why is this important? Up 1st a road map for where to harness geothermal power thanks to knowledge from the oil and gas industry, and study funding from Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.

How will this be important? In 2023, the Alliance will push for legislation that could help nurture the low-carbon industry. Currently there is no utility-scale geothermal electric generation on the ERCOT grid.

SP Global | Oil and gas, energy companies form group to kickstart geothermal power in Texas

What is happening? Los Angeles City Council approved a measure that will:

• prohibit oil and gas drilling in Los Angeles
• change zoning laws to make drilling illegal
• study how to legally phase out existing wells
• create a jobs program to transition oil and gas workers to other industries

Why is this important? “For far too long, neighborhood oil drilling has disproportionately affected the health of our low-income communities of color,” said council president Nury Martinez at a news conference ahead of the vote. 

How will this be important?  California Independent Petroleum Association referred to it as an unconstitutional taking of their property without compensation.

KXAN (Austin, TX) | Los Angeles City Council approves phaseout of oil drilling

What is happening? Maine is considering preventing utilities from shutting off power to buildings that are used for public safety.

Why is this important? A power payment dilemma almost caused a Central Maine Power technician showed up at Buckfield, Maine’s fire station. In reality, the utility had payment for 10 days but couldn’t figure out how to apply payment.

How will this be important? Does your state or city prevent power shut offs at public safety buildings like fire stations and police stations?

Sun Journal via Governing | Maine Considers Protecting Public Safety Building Utilities

What is happening? Indiana is considering SB 271 (2022 | IN) supporting small modular reactors, or SMRs. The bill defines SMR as clean energy, opening the projects up to other financial incentives.

Why is this important? The supporters say the foot print is small, it can replace decommissioned gas or coal plants, offers clean air, and is reliable.

How will this be important? The opposition arguments are focusing on the cost shift to consumers, cost overruns of these types of projects, and that SMRs are unproved technology.

IndyStar via Governing | Will a Shift to Nuclear Power Increase Energy Costs?

What is happening? Pennsylvania is seeing a resurgence in smart meters as the number of EVs grow.

Why is this important? The smart meters are being touted as a way for EV drivers to have greater control over their electricity use. The EV owner gains great control over electricity use and control over when electricity use occurs, and utilities gain the ability to offer special rates that charge more during peak hours and less during lower-use times & incentivizing consumers to change their behavior.

How will this be important? 5.9 million smart meters are installed in Pennsylvania, and incentives have been slow related to smart meters generally, but customers with EV have been extended incentives.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Governing | As EV Use Expands, Pennsylvania Smart Meters Resurface