This week in Energy Democracy news:
Two U.S. cities say yes to municipal solar solutions; The Trump Administration continues to back coal and nuclear plants; and The Washington Post explains why 2017 is the beginning of the end of the internal combustion engine.
Featured Stories
Solar/Electric Array Will Brighten Newtown by Andrew Gorosko, The Newtown Bee
The long-closed municipal landfill will soon be the site of the town’s largest solar/electric array, in effect, an electric power plant that is expected to produce approximately one megawatt of electricity and significantly reduce the town government’s electric bill.
South Portland set to flip the switch on Maine’s largest municipal solar array by Kelley Bouchard, Portland Press Herald
Western governors set sights on electric vehicle charging network spanning seven states by Joe Rubino, Denver Post
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday said he and the governors of six other Western states have a plan to create a network of fast-charge stations that will ease range anxiety among electric vehicle drivers traveling along major transportation corridors in the region.
Eleven interstate highways — including Interstates 25, 70 and 76 in Colorado — were highlighted as initial target corridors in a network covering more than 5,000 road miles.
“This is an investment. Not just an investment of the future, but an investment in the brand of the Mountain West,” Hickenlooper said. “It’s about making us a hub for clean-energy innovation.”
Rick Perry’s plan to subsidize coal and nuclear plants is bonkers by David Roberts, Vox
Here’s the short summary: Perry wants utilities to pay coal and nuclear power plants for all their costs and all the power they produce, whether those plants are needed or not.
Why 2017 will go down as the beginning of the end of the internal combustion engine By Peter Holley, The Washington Post
Electric vehicles no longer seem like a futuristic fever dream, but they remain a rarity on most American city streets, accounting for less than 1 percent of the nation’s auto sales, according to the automotive website Edmunds.com.
Yet, when future auto historians look back, they may pinpoint 2017 as the year electric vehicles went from a promising progressive fad to an industry-wide inevitability.
Pioneering Community Solar In The Granite State — Episode 44 Of Local Energy Rules Podcast by John Farrell, CleanTechnica
Electric Vehicles Report: Part 1 — Electric Vehicles Are Going Mainstream by John Farrell, CleanTechnica
Electric Vehicles Report: Part 2 — The Impacts Of The Electric Vehicle Revolution by John Farrell, CleanTechnica
Electric Vehicles Report: Part 3 — Changing Rules To Maximize Electric Vehicle Benefits by John Farrell, CleanTechnica
Energy Democracy News Across the States
Arizona
Arizona Joins States to Promote Electric Vehicle Charging by AP, U. S. News
California
California Law Will Streamline Permitting for Distributed Energy Storage by David Chiu, Janice Lin and Polly Shaw, GreenTech Media
Energy storage helps electricity customers and the electric grid in many ways: It reduces monthly bills; delivers grid services such as peak reduction, emergency backup and smoothing out the increasing share of renewable energy production; and it enables California to keep the lights on while reaching our clean energy goals.
Solutions for Connecting Local Renewable Energy to the Grid More Quickly, PV Solar Report
A New Type of Community Choice Utility Rises, Boosts Solar Energy in California by Andrew Burger, Solar Magazine
California Law Will Streamline Permitting for Distributed Energy Storage by David Chiu, Janice Lin and Polly Shaw, GreenTech Media
Colorado
Western governors set sights on electric vehicle charging network spanning seven states by Joe Rubino, Denver Post
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday said he and the governors of six other Western states have a plan to create a network of fast-charge stations that will ease range anxiety among electric vehicle drivers traveling along major transportation corridors in the region.
Eleven interstate highways — including Interstates 25, 70 and 76 in Colorado — were highlighted as initial target corridors in a network covering more than 5,000 road miles.
“This is an investment. Not just an investment of the future, but an investment in the brand of the Mountain West,” Hickenlooper said. “It’s about making us a hub for clean-energy innovation.”
Connecticut
Solar/Electric Array Will Brighten Newtown by Andrew Gorosko, The Newtown Bee
The long-closed municipal landfill will soon be the site of the town’s largest solar/electric array, in effect, an electric power plant that is expected to produce approximately one megawatt of electricity and significantly reduce the town government’s electric bill.
Georgia
Helping low-income residents benefit from solar power by Emily Jones, Marketplace
Illinois
Illinois Power Agency posts its renewable energy plan by Mark Burger, PV Magazine
Indiana
Solar energy in Decatur County by Joshua Heath, Greensburg Daily News
Iowa
Environmental official helps spread solar power in Linn County by Mitchell Schmidt, The Gazette
Kentucky
On coal, Trump and his EPA chief play Kentuckians for suckers once again by Tom Eblen, The Herald Leader
Maine
South Portland set to flip the switch on Maine’s largest municipal solar array by Kelley Bouchard, Press Herald
Massachusetts
Solar industry turns up heat on Mass. Legislature by Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe
Massachusetts starts inquiry into energy storage eligibility for net metering by Peter Maloney, Utility Dive
Michigan
Ann Arbor taking first step to add solar to downtown parking facilities by Ryan Stanton, M Live
After first year, on-bill financing by Michigan utility enabling bigger efficiency upgrades by Karen Uhlenhuth, Midwest Energy News
Report eyes Michigan’s sustainability future by Ehren Wydner, GRJB
Ann Arbor taking first step to add solar to downtown parking facilities by Ryan Stanton, M Live
Minnesota
Minnesota project explores solar’s role in development along transit line by Frank Jossi, Midwest Energy News
For clean-energy jobs, sky’s the limit by Mike Hughlett, Star Tribune
Centerville considers joining a community solar garden by Loretta Harding, The Citizen
New Jersey
Solar Array at Old Landfill Is Finally Ready to Open by Anne Levin, Town Topics
Ohio
South Central electric co-op putting up solar panels in Lancaster by Mark Williams, The Columbus Dispatch
Tennessee
Small Business Owner Becomes First Business To Join Solar Share, The Chattanoogan
Texas
Death of Clean Power Plan won’t save San Antonio coal plant slated for closure by Sergio Chapa, San Antonio Business Journal
Utah
Leaders, advocates praise solar net metering compromise by Amy Joi O’Donoghue, Deseret News
Solar groups and utility made a deal because ‘in Utah, we do things differently’ By Emma Penrod, The Salt Lake Tribune
Virginia
Here comes the sun: More Virginians go solar as prices drop by Rachael Smith, The Roanoke Times
State to Spend $14M on Electric Car Charging Stations, AP, U. S. News
Nationwide Energy Democracy News
Friendly policies keep US oil and coal afloat far more than we thought by David Roberts, Vox
Rick Perry’s plan to subsidize coal and nuclear plants is bonkers by David Roberts, Vox
Here’s the short summary: Perry wants utilities to pay coal and nuclear power plants for all their costs and all the power they produce, whether those plants are needed or not.
Report identifies 2.6 gigawatts of ‘uneconomic’ coal plants in Midwest by Kari Lydersen and Andy Balaskovitz, Midwest Energy News
Why 2017 will go down as the beginning of the end of the internal combustion engine By Peter Holley, The Washington Post
Electric vehicles no longer seem like a futuristic fever dream, but they remain a rarity on most American city streets, accounting for less than 1 percent of the nation’s auto sales, according to the automotive website Edmunds.com.
Yet, when future auto historians look back, they may pinpoint 2017 as the year electric vehicles went from a promising progressive fad to an industry-wide inevitability.
GM commits to ‘all-electric future’ as it adds 2 more pure EVs due by 2023 by Benjamin Raven, M Live
Will The U.S. Solar Industry Survive Import Tariffs? Trump Holds The Cards by Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Rebuilding After the Hurricanes: These Solar Homes Use Almost No Energy by Lyndsey Gilpin, Inside Climate News
The Emergence of Utility-Branded DER Marketplaces by Fei Wang, GreenTech Media
EPA’s climate rule withdrawal will include big changes to cost calculations by Emily Holden, Politico
The Trump administration will consider fundamentally limiting the way the federal government counts benefits from curbing climate change and air pollution in an upcoming proposal to rescind former President Barack Obama’s signature climate regulation, according to multiple sources familiar with recent drafts.
In nixing the Clean Power Plan, EPA will suggest changing the benefits it counts, which would bolster its arguments that the rule’s economic burdens would outweigh its gains from cleaner air, reduced illnesses and greater energy efficiency.
EPA chief: I’d ‘do away with’ wind, solar tax credits by Timothy Cama, The Hill
A bipartisan view on modernizing the US electric grid by Robert E. Latta, Jerry McNerney, Utility Dive
The U.S. solar industry’s new growth region: Trump country by Nichola Groom, Reuters
The 4 Main Pillars of Enhancing Utility Grid Resilience by Philip Mihlmester, Anne Choate, GreenTech Media
Alabama, Mississippi are fastest growing U.S. solar markets by Brye Steeves, Southeast Energy News
This article was originally posted at ilsr.org. For timely updates, follow John Farrell on Twitter or get the Energy Democracy weekly update.
