Coal towns get another federal clean energy boost

CLEAN ENERGY: A wind turbine manufacturer in Texas and an energy efficient window maker in Colorado and Pennsylvania are among companies receiving $275 million federal funding to bring clean energy jobs to former coal communities. (New York Times)

ALSO:

• The White House announces a wave of initiatives meant to shore up supply chains for critical minerals, wind turbine materials and other clean energy products. (E&E News)
• A solar company building factories in Georgia worries that a surge of clean energy manufacturing driven by the Inflation Reduction Act could overwhelm the market. (New York Times)

GEOTHERMAL: A developer brings the nation’s first enhanced geothermal energy project online in Nevada to power Google data centers. (Canary Media)

CLIMATE: Indigenous Hondurans and other refugees fleeing climate disasters are seeking asylum in the U.S., but eligibility laws written decades ago aren’t equipped to help them. (New York Times)

GRID: The Inflation Reduction Act has pushed long-stalled transmission projects like the SunZia line into construction, in part thanks to support from White House adviser John Podesta and other top officials. (E&E News)

COAL: Ameren tells Missouri regulators that it could save customers $120 million over 15 years by shutting down its second-biggest coal plant. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

SOLAR:

• New solar farms in Texas push solar generation to outpace all other forms of generating capacity added nationwide during the first three quarters of 2023. (Renewables Now)
• Crews are assembling a first-of-its-kind floating solar project that will eventually cover a water treatment reservoir north of Columbus, Ohio. (WCMH)
• New data show Oregon’s solar power generation has increased by a factor of 125 since 2012. (OPB)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Connecticut’s governor rescinds a plan to ban gas-fueled car sales by 2035 because of insufficient support, but says the legislature will study the idea next year. (Hartford Courant)
• As more New York City landlords ban electric bikes on their properties over combustion fears, tenants are left wondering where to safely store them. (Gothamist)

WIND:

• “Maybe we were too optimistic:” An Ørsted executive says a booming industry may have driven the wind developer to overextend itself and eventually have to cancel projects. (E&E News)
• The Kitty Hawk offshore wind project could be jeopardized after Virginia Beach leaders tell the developer that residents oppose plans to bring transmission cables ashore due to concerns about property values and tourism. (WAVY, Virginian-Pilot)

STORAGE: The U.S. Energy Department announces a company will build a $100 million-plus lithium-ion battery project in Virginia, although a U.S. senator says the project might go to North Carolina instead. (Virginia Business)