What’s holding up new EV chargers? ​“Every site is a snowflake”

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: ​“Every site is a snowflake:” Experts and local officials say equipment shortages, utility delays, and huge numbers of stakeholders are among issues stalling federal efforts to install public electric vehicle chargers. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR: The Biden administration says it’s looking to restart more decommissioned nuclear power plants alongside Michigan’s Palisades plant and Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island. (Reuters)

WORKFORCE: The International Energy Agency finds U.S. energy efficiency employers have had particular difficulty hiring skilled workers to construct and retrofit buildings. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:

• Hurricane Helene’s damage to a North Carolina town home to the purest quartz in the world highlights the solar industry’s precarious reliance on materials produced from a single location, especially in the face of escalating weather disasters. (Grist)
• North Carolina solar companies partner with a clean energy group to build solar and battery microgrids in parts of western North Carolina that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. (PV Magazine)
• Fossil fuel interests have leaned on a local Ohio newspaper, now owned by a network reportedly engaged in pay-to-play coverage, to publish negative stories about a proposed commercial solar project that has divided local residents and officials. (ProPublica; Energy News Network archives)

TRANSMISSION:

• A federal appeals court ruling likely removes the last major obstacle for a $1.5 billion transmission line project that would import hydropower from Canada into the New England grid. (Utility Dive)
• Alaska officials say the state’s aging grid and its geographic isolation, which prevent it from importing and exporting power from neighboring states, complicates its energy transition. (Inside Climate News)

HYDROGEN: An Alaska geologist hunts for naturally occurring hydrogen reservoirs across the U.S., saying it could be a major new source of affordable carbon-free energy. (Inside Climate News)

EFFICIENCY: The U.S. Energy Department issues $1.1 million to a project researching ways to cool data centers and reduce their energy use. (Utility Dive)

POLITICS:

• A political analyst says the debate over fracking in the presidential campaign is more about signaling than any practical impact on drilling in Pennsylvania. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• This fall’s election for three seats on Ohio’s Supreme Court comes as the court hears challenges to state ratemaking decisions, renewable energy siting, and oil and gas drilling. (Energy News Network)

COMMENTARY: Energy consultants highlight the ​“encouraging and disconcerting” effects of big tech companies on the clean energy transition. (Utility Dive)