This Week in Climate & Clean Energy Wins: Week of 5/19

More than 5,600 electric school buses have been supplied through government awards as of the end of last year, now representing just over 1% of the nation’s total school bus fleet. This expansion is thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law, which funded $5 billion in grants for zero- or low-emission school buses. Inflation Reduction Act incentives are continuing to draw investments in U.S. clean energy manufacturing. This week, Denmark’s Topsoe announced it will invest $300 million in a U.S. factory to build hydrogen electrolyzers. Schneider Electric announced plans to open a circuit breaker and electrical panel board factory in El Paso, Texas to expand its American manufacturing. Anovion Technologies announced it will invest $800 million in a synthetic graphite anode factory in southwest Georgia, creating 400 jobs. Imerys and TotalEnergies are partnering to install solar and battery energy storage systems to offset 50% of their mining operations’ energy usage. And, U.S. manufacturing output increased by 1% in April, driven by a 9.3% increase in motor vehicle production overall. 

This week, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $251 million investment in US carbon management capabilities, which will reduce CO2 emissions through expanding transportation and storage infrastructure. The Biden Administration announced the largest investment in rural electricity infrastructure since the 1930s, approving $11 billion in funding to encourage energy and utility providers to offer clean energy alternatives. The Biden Administration announced that Pittsburgh will be one of five initial workforce hubs, a key player in the launch of the Investing in America Workforce initiative. 

Lastly, states are continuing to drive the transition towards clean energy with state universities leading the charge. The University of California signed a wind energy contract with SunZia to bring 3,500 MW of electricity to the campus and UW-Parkside hosted state officials on a tour of the state-funded university solar farm, which will power the campus’s electrical grid. Also, in Pennsylvania, the retirement announcement of the state’s largest coal plant is fostering healthy competition between renewable energy developers over who will repurpose the site.

Private Sector

• Schneider Electric announced plans to open a factory in El, Paso, Texas to expand their American manufacturing.  [Wall Street Journal, 5/15/2023]
  • The new facility will make circuit breakers and electrical panel boards.
  • Makarand Karanjikar, Schneider’s senior vice president of supply-chain deployment for North America, said the company hopes to do 99% of manufacturing for the products in the region instead of shipping products around the world.
• Anovion Technologies announced it will invest $800 million in a synthetic graphite anode in southwest Georgia, creating 400 jobs. [Manufacturing Business Technology, 5/15/2023]
  • The company aims to become a major American-based supplier of graphite for electric batteries. 
• Topsoe announced it will invest $300 million in a U.S. factory to build hydrogen electrolyzers. [Bloomberg, 5/15/2023]
  • In the latest example of the Inflation Reduction Act’s wave of federal incentives drawing European investment, the company plans to make a final investment decision by the end of the year.
• Imerys is partnering with TotalEnergies to install a 15 MW solar system and 7.5 MWh battery energy storage system for its mining operations in California. [PV Magazine, 5/16/2023]
  • The goal of the solar-plus-storage facility is to offset 50% of the mine’s energy usage.

New Reports

• More than 5,600 electric school buses have been supplied through government awards as of December 2022, representing just over 1% of the nation’s total school bus fleet. [Canary Media, 5/15/2023]
  • The expansion is mostly driven by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure law, which funded $5 billion in grants for zero- or low-emission school buses.
• U.S. manufacturing production surged in April on motor vehicles. [Reuters, 5/16/2023]
  • U.S. manufacturing output increased by 1% in April, driven by a 9.3% increase in motor vehicle production overall. 

Biden Administration

• DOE announced a $251 million investment to support carbon management capabilities in seven states. [DOE, 5/17/2023]
  • The initiative will expand CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure to help significantly and responsibly reduce CO2 emissions from power generation and industrial operations.
• The Biden Administration announced $11 billion in funding for clean energy and utility providers in rural communities across America. [USDA, 5/16/2023]
  • This will be the largest single investment in rural energy infrastructure since FDR signed the Rural Electrification Act in the 1930s.
  • Grants and loans will be available through the Empowering Rural America (“New Era”) Program and the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) Program.

State-Level

• The University of California signed a wind energy contract with SunZia, which will bring 3,500 MW of electricity to the university through the construction of a 550 mile transmission line. [University of California, 5/16/2023]
  • Construction of the transmission line is expected to start this year and commercial operation is anticipated in 2026.
• The Biden Administration announced Pittsburgh as one of five initial workforce hubs, which will now receive support from the Investing in America Workforce initiatives to bolster the region’s clean energy sector. [White House, 5/16/2023]
  • Southwestern PA was recently awarded a Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant to expand the growing robotics sector and ensure the benefits extend to rural coal-impacted communities in the region.
• The retirement of the largest coal plant in Pennsylvania has been met with a flurry of renewable projects eager to take its place. [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 5/15/2023]
  • A result of the Inflation Reduction Act, there’s healthy competition between renewable energy developers over who will repurpose the area. So far, a blue hydrogen and solar project are in the mix.
• The Wisconsin Department of Administration visited UW-Parkside’s new solar farm. [Kenosha News, 5/15/2023]
  • The state-funded project will directly power the campus electrical grid.