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Can federal incentives bring solar cell manufacturing to the U.S.?

By Andy Balaskovitz

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SOLAR: A Canadian solar manufacturer’s plan to build a U.S. solar cell factory in Minnesota shows the Inflation Reduction Act is working as intended, clean energy and economic development officials say. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:

  • Two solar companies are partnering again to develop community solar projects in Illinois, this time totaling 21 MW of capacity. (Solar Industry)
  • A developer starts construction on a 117 MW solar project in southern Ohio. (Solar Power World)

CLEAN ENERGY:

  • Wisconsin clean energy advocates liken the Inflation Reduction Act to the New Deal for its potential to spur private-sector investments to address climate change. (Wisconsin Examiner)
  • Three North Dakota utilities and one in South Dakota are among the recipients of $7.3 billion in federal grants and loans to spur rural clean energy projects. (North Dakota Monitor; South Dakota Searchlight)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota will receive a nearly $8 million grant, which the state declined to apply for, to buy electric buses and charging stations. (South Dakota Searchlight) 

PIPELINES: Iowa carbon pipeline opponents point to a new poll they commissioned that found 81% respondents oppose the use of eminent domain for private projects, including pipelines. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

POLITICS: A proposed $2.4 billion battery plant in western Michigan has grown from a local issue to the national political stage as Republicans attack the project for its ties to China. (NBC News)

COAL: An Illinois scholarship program is helping former coal industry workers transition into new careers. (WSIU)

WIND: A large renewable energy developer pledges to remove used wind turbine blades from a Minnesota town after recycling companies recently failed to take on the task. (Star Tribune)

GRID:

  • Grid operator PJM is considering a new plan that would fast-track shovel-ready generation projects through the interconnection process to boost power supplies. (Utility Dive)
  • Ameren held 20 public meetings in northeastern Missouri last month to present plans for 200 miles of transmission lines across the region. (NEMO News)
  • Xcel Energy proposes a new transmission line in western Wisconsin that it says will improve reliability and move renewable energy coming on the grid. (news release)

COMMENTARY: The head of a Wisconsin dairy cooperative says the dairy industry can play a key role in producing sustainable aviation fuels. (Star Tribune)

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