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Grants would help less affluent New Hampshire towns invest in public solar projects
New Hampshire’s energy department is preparing to road-test a grant program meant to help disadvantaged cities and towns access the environmental and financial benefits of solar power. The state plans to use $1.4 million from the 2021 federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to help fund the installation of solar projects...
Commission claims court can’t review decisions on drilling under Ohio park and wildlife areas
An Ohio commission is arguing its decisions last fall to allow oil and gas drilling under a state park and two wildlife areas are final and cannot be appealed. Environmental groups challenging the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission say it failed to follow state law when it approved land parcels for leasing of drilling rights at Salt Fork State Park, Zepernick Wildlife Area and Valley Run Wildlife Area. Among other things, state law says the commission must consider nine factors in reaching its decisions, including environmental impacts, consequences for visitors or users of state lands, public comments or objections, economic issues, and others.
Xcel Energy proposes time-of-use rates as the default option for Minnesota customers
Xcel Energy customers in Minnesota will likely soon have good reason to hold off on running dishwashers or charging vehicles until bedtime. The state’s largest utility is asking regulators to approve a major change to how residential customers have paid for their electricity for decades. In December, the company...
Virginia legislation aims to unleash competition to speed progress on clean electricity
Newly empowered Virginia Democrats are pushing legislation this session that would elevate the role of customers and private developers in meeting the state’s clean energy targets. A chief aim of the ARC bill — shorthand for Affordable, Reliable and Competitive — is to significantly expand the amount of power...
Connecticut program aims to alleviate cost barriers to utility oversight process, but challenges remain
Connecticut’s utilities commission is the latest to begin offering payments to help environmental justice and ratepayer groups participate in regulatory proceedings. The Stakeholder Group Compensation Program was required to take effect this month as part of an energy consumer protection bill passed by the state legislature last year. It seeks to encourage more diverse engagement in proceedings on utility regulation, which can set direction for grid resiliency, rate relief, clean energy development, corporate accountability, storm response and more.
Virginia districts roll on with electric school buses despite lack of state funding
A lack of state money isn’t curbing Virginia school districts’ enthusiasm for ridding their fleets of polluting, noisy diesel-powered buses. Through December, Virginia ranked fourth nationwide in the number of electric school buses either on the road or on order. Its 260 total was surpassed by only California, Maryland, and New York, according to data compiled by the nonprofit World Resources Institute.
How a Koch-linked group stalled a bipartisan Ohio energy efficiency bill at the last minute
A bipartisan energy efficiency bill was indefinitely delayed last fall amid a clash between a major conservative lobbying group and one of the state’s most prominent Republican lawmakers, according to previously unreported emails obtained by the Energy News Network. Just before an expected vote to let Ohio utilities offer...
IRA offers lucrative incentives for low-income community solar, but also creates new challenges
Community solar is inherently a way to expand equity in solar access, as advocates describe it, since it makes clean energy and savings accessible to people who lack the capital or the space to install their own arrays. The Inflation Reduction Act has the potential to drive a boom in...
Anonymously funded group stokes local opposition to Ohio solar project
An anonymously funded group is spreading misinformation about a rural Ohio solar project, according to project backers and others who reviewed claims made at a recent event. Knox Smart Development was incorporated last month by Jared Yost, a Mount Vernon resident and opponent of the planned 120 megawatt Frasier Solar project. Three weeks later, on Nov. 30, the group hosted a catered “town hall meeting” at a Mount Vernon theater that included speakers with ties to fossil fuel and climate denial groups.
Green hydrogen could make Minnesota a leader in climate-friendly steel
The following story is the fourth in a series produced in collaboration with KAXE/KBXE, an independent, nonprofit community radio station that tells the stories of northern Minnesota. A Hoyt Lakes native leading a regional hydrogen partnership says the emerging fuel source could someday help make Minnesota’s Iron Range a leader...
Community solar projects seen as key step toward energy justice in Illinois
An effort led by Chicago’s Blacks in Green has been recommended for $12.5 million in renewable energy credits to help develop three community solar projects to benefit underresourced communities. The three projects totaling 9 MW are valued at $25.7 million and will be developed by the Green Energy Justice...
How giving trucks an electric boost can help cut mining pollution in Minnesota
The following story is the third in a series produced in collaboration with KAXE/KBXE, an independent, nonprofit community radio station that tells the stories of northern Minnesota. A Minnesota taconite mining company and its electric utility are seeking federal funding for a demonstration project aimed at slashing diesel fuel use...
Minnesota taconite mines explore new technology to reduce energy, water use
The following story is the second in a series produced in collaboration with KAXE/KBXE, an independent, nonprofit community radio station that tells the stories of northern Minnesota. Minnesota taconite mine operator Cleveland-Cliffs is testing a new method for treating industrial wastewater in hopes of decreasing water, chemical and energy use...
Low-emissions steelmaking could be big business for Minnesota’s Iron Range, experts say
The following story is the first in a series produced in collaboration with KAXE/KBXE, an independent, nonprofit community radio station that tells the stories of northern Minnesota. World leaders in Dubai this week are concluding the latest United Nations conference on climate change, where experts and advocates repeated urgent pleas...
Burgeoning hydrogen industry draws $41 million in federal lobbying from fossil fuel companies
This story was produced in partnership with OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. Jimmy Cloutier is the political reporter at opensecrets.org. He can be reached at jcloutier@opensecrets.org. The number of companies and organizations lobbying the federal government on issues related to hydrogen increased nearly tenfold since...
Group representing NASCAR and other N.C. companies says Duke Energy needs to pick up the pace on clean energy
Charlotte-based NASCAR, like so many of its Fortune 500 advertisers, has lofty goals to reduce its carbon footprint and invest in renewable energy. But just as stock-car racing has long held prominence in the Southeast, so too have electric utility monopolies. And unlike in neighboring Virginia, which has its own share of speedways, large customers in North Carolina can’t buy renewable energy in a competitive wholesale market.
Randazzo indictment sparks renewed calls for full regulatory review in Ohio
Despite critics’ calls for an investigation and other actions following a criminal indictment against Ohio’s former utilities commission chair, it’s unclear whether regulators will shift course any time soon. Sam Randazzo, who previously chaired the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, has been charged with conspiracy to commit...
Why an Ohio welding supply company is getting into the electric vehicle charging business
A 128-year-old Cleveland-area industrial equipment manufacturer is among the newest makers of fast chargers for the growing electric vehicle market. Lincoln Electric’s new Velion DC fast charger adapts and adds to technology the company has used for its welding machines and other heavy-duty power equipment. The innovation is an...
A year after record heating oil price spike, heat pump demand hums along in Maine
A year after the war in Ukraine drove record-high fossil fuel prices for winter heating in oil-dependent Maine, demand for efficient electric heat pumps remains steady despite new challenges. Spikes in fuel prices don’t tend to immediately translate to increased heat pump demand, officials said, but rather may spark new...
Opponents appeal decision to allow drilling under Ohio state parks and wildlife areas
Environmental groups filed an appeal Thursday, challenging recent decisions by an Ohio regulatory commission to allow drilling under a state park and two state wildlife areas. Those decisions currently call for sections of Salt Fork State Park, Zepernick Wildlife Area and Valley Run Wildlife Area to be leased to the highest and best bidder, with the bidding period set to start in January.
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