This Week in Climate & Clean Energy Wins: Week of 8/21/23

This week in private sector news, the nation’s largest renewable energy project broke ground at Dulles International Airport – consisting of a solar, battery storage and EV initiative that’s estimated to produce enough energy to power 37,500 homes. Driven by incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, Northvolt has raised $1.2 billion to build new lithium-ion battery factories in the U.S., marking the first time the company has shared concrete plans to build in North America. Public Storage is underway on plans to capitalize on 150 million square feet of vacant rooftop space – set to install panels on 1,000 additional roofs by 2025. 

A new poll found that 74% of Americans agreeing that climate change has played a role in this summer’s extreme weather. With more than half of Americans living in affected areas, the disconnect between the GOP and voters on the issue of climate change grows. The World Weather Attribution study found that climate change is making dangerous fire-prone conditions more likely. America’s EV charging network is expanding far and wide, with more than 1,200 charging stations added to Route 50 in the last year – making the longest interstate in the country EV-ready. Federal incentives and investment in green technology sectors are expected to result in the creation of 250,000 good-paying American manufacturing jobs over the next two years.

The Biden Administration continues to support the booming clean energy economy, pledging their support for renewable initiatives that are bringing good-paying jobs to Americans. President Biden recently approved a 704 megawatt offshore wind project by Revolution Wind off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Department of Interior (DOI) announced the approval of the Revolution Wind project, which is expected to produce enough energy to power nearly 250,000 homes and create 1,200 local jobs during the construction phase. The Department Of Energy (DOE) also released a report finding that wind power continues to be one of the fastest growing and cost-effective energy sources in the country – second only to solar, which represented over $12 billion in investments in 2022. DOE announced $30 million in funding to help lower the cost of onshore critical materials production, which are essential to the growing clean energy manufacturing sector.

Lastly, the University of Pittsburgh partnered with Vesper Energy to create one of the largest solar projects in western Pennsylvania this week. In Wisconsin, Siemens announced plans to start manufacturing photovoltaic string inverters in the state to expand solar power in the U.S. In Michigan, Consumers Energy is working with 11 school districts to put all-electric school buses on the roads and Nexteer Automotive and Northstar Clean Energy are partnering up to create their first-ever solar field in the state. 

Private Sector

• Dominion Energy and Virginia officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a solar, battery storage and electric vehicle initiative at Dulles International Airport. [Virginia Mercury, 8/23/2023] 
  • The nation’s largest renewable energy project at an airport,  the project consists of 100 megawatts of solar power and 50 megawatts of battery storage, with the ability to power 37,500 homes. 
• Northvolt raised $1.2 billion to build new lithium-ion battery factories in the U.S., driven by incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. [Tech Crunch, 8/22/2023]
  • The announcement signals the first time Northvolt has shared concrete plans to build in North America.
• Public Storage is underway on plans to put panels on another 1,000 roofs by 2025 – capitalizing on 150 million square feet, or more than 3,400 acres, of vacant rooftop space. [Wall Street Journal, 8/21/2023] 
  • Public Storage will install arrays in Maryland, New Jersey, and Illinois, and make discounted power available to low-income households. 

New Reports

• Scientists found that human-caused climate change made dangerous weather conditions leading up to this summer’s Canadian wildfires more likely to occur. [World Weather Attribution, 8/23/2023]
  • As a result, their analysis projects that the likelihood and intensity of fire events will increase in a 2°C warmer world.
• In the past year, the U.S. has added more than 1,200 EV charging stations to Route 50 – making America’s longest interstate EV-ready. [Bloomberg, 8/23/2023]
  • There are now about 4,800 public fast-charging stations in the US.
• Federal incentives and investments for the semiconductor and green technology sectors could result in 250,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs over the next two years. [Axios, 8/21/2023]
  • Roughly one third of the total private investment pledged to green and semiconductor manufacturing is set to occur in Arizona.

Biden Administration

• DOE released reports that show wind power continues to be one of the fastest growing and lowest cost sources of electricity in America. [DOE, 8/24/2023]
  • Meanwhile, solar represented $12 billion in capital investment in 2022, and employs more than 125,000 Americans.
• DOI announced its approval of the Revolution Wind project – capable of generating an estimated 704 MW of clean energy and powering nearly 250,000 homes. [DOI, 8/22/2023]
  • The project is expected to create an estimated 1,200 local jobs during the construction phase.
• DOE announced up to $30 million to help lower the costs of the onshore production of rare earths and other critical minerals and materials from domestic coal-based resources. [DOE, 8/21/2023]
  • Rare earths and other critical minerals are key to U.S. manufacturing of clean energy technologies.

State-Level  

• Through a partnership with Vesper Energy, the University of Pittsburgh recently cut the ribbon on one of the largest solar projects in western Pennsylvania. [Center Square, 8/21/2023]
  • The project is expected to provide approximately 18% of the campus’ electricity usage per year, helping the university reach its goal to achieve campus carbon neutrality by 2037. 
• Siemens announced plans to start manufacturing photovoltaic string inverters in Kenosha, Wisconsin to expand the U.S. solar energy landscape. [Environment & Energy Leader, 8/21/2023] 
  • The facility is expected to generate up to a dozen jobs during its initial phase, with plans for further growth.
• Consumers Energy is working with 11 school districts in Michigan to put all-electric school buses on the roads. [WILX, 8/21/2023]
• Nexteer Automotive and Northstar Clean Energy are partnering up to create their first-ever solar field in Michigan. [WNEM, 8/22/2023]