So Hot Right Now

Good morning and happy Friday,

In this week’s headlines, Sen. Joe Manchin's buy-in on the climate bill comes with a string attached: easing permitting for fossil fuel projects (which could also ease bureaucratic hurdles for clean energy and transmission).

This bill would be a very big deal, and there are still many ways this can all go wrong.

Nuclear energy also received a lot of attention this week, as one of two nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. got the green light to load fuel on Wednesday and filmmaker Oliver Stone will debut a documentary about the benefits of nuclear power in September.?

Read on for more.?

Be Still Our Beating Hearts...

Senator Manchin’s welcome about-face regarding the climate provisions of the Senate’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has set the stage for a major transition to cleaner sources of power, prompting observers to call it “the biggest climate action ever taken by Congress” and use words like “breakthrough” and “game changer.”

• The IRA includes $369 billion in energy and climate spending and aims to slash emissions to 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. The U.S. committed to reducing GHG emissions to 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, but current emissions are only 17% below 2005 levels.
• The bill largely mirrors the proposal laid out in last year’s failed “Build Back Better Act” and seeks to incentivize clean energy in several ways, including extend tax credits for renewables – with some new and interesting twists, such as bonuses related to wages and siting, not to mention big shifts in the way tax credits are paid out.
• It also includes significant funding to help address siting and permitting, transmission, and supply chain issues.

?? The Takeaway

That buzzing you hear is the sound of climate advocates and clean energy supporters levitating off the ground in excited anticipation. Could this be it? We’ve had our hopes dashed and our hearts broken many times before...c’mon Congress, git r’ dun!!

Stop Us if You’ve Heard This One Before...

A renewable energy developer approaches a rural community about building a solar farm in the area. Some folks welcome the opportunity for diversified revenue, jobs, and clean power. Others are convinced the proposal portends the end of civilization...or at least, their way of life. Before long, old friends become adversaries...

• Thousands of communities across the country host wind or solar farms and enjoy the economic, social, and environmental benefits these facilities generate.
• Even so, it can seem like none of this matters, and every proposed project has to start from square one (or worse) in making the case for renewables. If you’ve been in the industry for more than two minutes, you can probably recite both sides of the pro : anti arguments by heart.
• It can be frustrating to see the same misinformation repeated over and over – misinformation that can seem impervious to copious evidence to the contrary and well-researched, fact-based rebuttals.

??? The Takeaway

With so many successful renewable energy projects across the country, shouldn’t this be getting easier by now? As the article notes, “If nearly every renewable energy proposal turns into a political and legal quagmire, then there is little hope that the United States can make the energy transition needed to address climate change.”

• Power Couple: How Manchin-Schumer would change energy, from oil to solar
• Record Breaker: Texas power use to break records again this week
• Couponing: New Mexico $1 billion federal solar power program?
• Get in Line: Why utilities are lining up behind the climate bill
• Sustainable Wind: World’s first wind turbine with recyclable blades is up and spinning

• Greenbacker 104MW Utah solar farm goes live
• Cypress Creek acquires 100MW transmission project
• EDPR secures 200MW Californian solar PPA

Can’t Get There from Here...

Home to 11,000 wind turbines – more than any other area of the state – the High Plains region of Texas has the potential to produce enough clean energy to power at least 9 million homes. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough transmission to get the wind power out of the region to high-demand population centers like Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin – and wind farm operators are often forced to significantly curtail their production as a result. With high temps hitting the Lone Star State and straining the grid, not to mention huge spikes in natural gas prices (the source of half the state’s electricity) driving up utility bills, that low-cost energy is desperately needed.

The Texas PUC is looking into the feasibility of building additional transmission, but these studies take time, and must fit in with the broader effort to shore up ERCOT’s reliability in the aftermath of Winter Storms Uri and Viola. Let’s hope that plans for additional transmission – which will support further expansion of the state’s clean energy resources, boost resiliency, and give millions greater access to low-cost wind and solar power – are on the table soon.