Don’t Squat on Your Spurs

Good morning and happy Friday,

In this week’s headlines, the IRA law is dramatically scaling the need for a clean energy workforce as wind and offshore solar installs are projected to increase 40% by 2030.?

The new tax law is expected to send billions in clean energy investment to many of? the midwestern states that voted against it while the west coast is experimenting with covering a canal with solar panels to fight the drought brought on by climate change.?

Read on for more.

Don’t Squat on Your Spurs, Texas

To paraphrase this week’s Must Read article, you would think someone on Texas’ advisory committee charged with devising a “comprehensive energy plan” to fix what ails the state’s power grid would have a substantial history of developing renewable energy in Texas. You would be wrong. Here's what you need to know when it comes to which way the wind blows on this committee:

• The twelve-member committee includes four individuals who are executives at utilities or cooperatives, but no one with significant experience developing large renewable energy projects.
• The only committee member with any experience in renewables has a checkered past and “has raised unorthodox ideas that veer into the realm of conspiracy theory.”

This despite the fact that more than 25% of the Lone Star State’s power comes from renewables, and solar has been “a breakout star in preventing blackouts” this summer.

?? The Takeaway

A number of Texasisms spring to mind. Mostly not positive ones. Shutting renewables out of a major energy planning exercise seems unwise, to put it mildly. As the article notes, “It is only an advisory committee... But based on the committee’s membership, it’s hard to see how renewable energy will get a fair hearing.”?

Bucking a Clean Energy Future in the Buckeye State

A story making the rounds this week is that at least ten Ohio counties have now used a state law passed last October to ban large-scale wind and solar development. Key points to know about the situation include the following:

• The article notes that “At least two more counties are actively considering such a prohibition” and that “The state law and subsequent county action add new roadblocks to renewable energy development as the international scientific community warns of a warming climate and a need to shift away from fossil fuels.”
• The legislation “scrambles some typical political coalitions”...while the law “passed with only Republican support,” it was also opposed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, “typically a conservative ally.”

Meanwhile, pv magazine notes that “many Ohio politicians – all the way up to the Governor’s office – are embroiled in a bribery scandal implemented by coal facility owners. Tens of millions of dollars were paid to various politicians and intermediaries to implement laws that gave billions in incentives to coal and nuclear facilities.

?? The Takeaway

It’s time to kick-start a clean energy renaissance in rural America! That’s the premise of a new “how-to guide for communities seeking to transition to clean energy.” The author, Michelle Moore, encourages local leaders to “pay attention to the kinds of energy rebates, subsidies and incentives that are offered through federal programs and…the Inflation Reduction Act. The opportunities are great…but it will be up to local innovators and leaders to take advantage of them.”

• Two Steps Forward: U.S. solar industry warns of pitfalls after climate law
• The Means Justify the Ends: Value of Wind Energy Far Exceeds Costs
• Sleeping Giant: Expansion of Clean Energy Loan in Climate Bill
• Poised for Success: Indiana, America's 'Crossroads of Clean Energy'
• Team Work: How wind in Wyoming helps California’s climate change fight

• NorthRenew Energy project to 115 wind turbines west of Idaho Falls
• RWE wind power pilot project tests wind turbines with precast foundations
• OPSB approves Avangrid’s 150-megawatt Wild Grains Solar project

Sweet as Sugar

One of the wind industry’s most pressing questions has long been “When will we be able to upcycle blades into gummy bears?” Well, thanks to the hard work of researchers at Michigan State University, the answer is “sooner than you might have thought.” The scientists have “created a distinct turbine material that can be revived and recycled into new turbine blades or a variety of other products, including countertops, car tail lights, diapers…” as well as edible treats.

Whimsy aside, “[t]his innovation can have far-reaching consequences.” Thousands of turbine blades are scrapped every year in the U.S. and Europe, and although a few options exist to downcycle the fiberglass, most blades end up in landfills. We’re looking forward to having our renewable energy cake, and eating it too!