Good morning and happy Friday,

There’s lots of buzz around transmission for onshore and offshore renewable energy projects this week, as the Biden-Harris Administration released the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Action Plan, and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) introduced the “Building Integrated Grids With Inter-Regional Energy Supply (BIG WIRES) Act.” 

Meanwhile, California is the latest state to take “the world’s largest oil companies and their subsidiaries, along with the industry trade association the American Petroleum Institute” to the legal woodshed by filing suit against them. And while it’s far from a get-out-of-jail-free card, the on-again, off-again Petra Nova power plant carbon capture unit – one of only three in the world – is on again in Texas. 

Read on for more.

On August 1, the DOE launched a new program to help states and local communities evaluate and plan for proposed large-scale renewable energy facilities. This week it was announced that the Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) initiative is accepting applications for $10 million in funding and technical assistance. Here’s the scoop:

• R-STEP is intended to “support the creation of new, or the expansion of existing, state-based programs or initiatives that improve renewable energy planning and siting processes for local communities.” 
• The $10 million in funding is expected to go to “five to seven state-based collaboratives,” which will receive up to $2 million apiece to support creating or expanding related programs and initiatives. 
• The announcement included a list of examples of the types of activities that could be supported, including stakeholder outreach and engagement as well as the development of technical capacity related to key elements of the siting process.

Teaming up for success. The R-STEP program envisions funding collaboratives composed of interested parties from a range of institutions, including community organizations, NGOs, academic institutions, and Tribal governments. To help foster connections and build teams, R-STEP provides a forum where interested parties can add themselves to a Teaming Partner List. Sounds like a great way to facilitate collaboration!

Despite an abundance of solar energy, the Sunshine State’s relationship with solar power has been less than bright. The incumbent utilities have lobbied hard against rooftop solar, and a 2021 investigation revealed a well-funded effort to hamstring it. While these issues persist, this week saw one piece of good news: Florida installed nearly 2.5 GW of solar in the first half of 2023. Here are some points of illumination:

• California and Texas have much more installed solar capacity than Florida, but in terms of new installations in the first six months of 2023, Florida’s additions far outstripped the other states’ additions. Notably, 86% of these installations were built by utilities – but rooftop solar did account for 332 MW. 
• This achievement marks the first time Florida has come in first in solar installation, an important “clean energy inflection point for a populous state with a dirty grid” that gets just 6% of its electricity from solar and relies on fossil fuels for most of the remainder. 
• Florida is home to “a policy landscape that’s considerably more challenging” than other states due to “the lack of a renewable portfolio standard, a ban on power-purchase agreements and the dominance of utility-scale solar.”

Overcoming recalcitrance. The growth of net metering has incurred the ire of utilities across the country, which cite lost revenues and “unfair cost shifts” as their primary complaints. In Florida, tactics to disincentivize rooftop solar include “prolonged waits for interconnection, onerous insurance requirements and institutional recalcitrance.” While some, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, may not believe it’s important to reduce GHG emissions and address the climate crisis, advocates say this resistance must be overcome.

• Friction + Contradiction: [VA SCC strikes down Dominion’s interconnection rules DG](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/virginia-dominion-injunction-solar-distributed-interconnection/694074/#:~:text=The Virginia State Corporation Commission,barriers to small solar projects.)
• Georgia Slam: GA is generating more solar power but challenged getting it where it needs to go
• Science Non-Fiction: Space-based solar power is gaining interest
• Salting the Mine: Unions Fight in the States to Make Biden’s Climate Agenda Work for Workers

• White Castle, LA residents voice opposition to proposed solar farm at public meeting
• Citizens group in Morro Bay, CA citizens group get anti-battery storage initiative on ballot
• Sussex County, DE denied two solar applications - first denials by the county council
• Page County, IA extends moratorium on commercial wind energy
• Sedgwick County, KS Board of Commissioners establish 180-day moratorium on wind and solar
• Shelby County, TN Commissioners move forward with a moratorium on commercial solar farm developments

Coal mining is more likely to elicit images of black lung disease than healthy outdoor lifestyles, but perhaps we should all reevaluate this premise. A recent article in Thrillist provides a list of former coal communities that, rather than becoming ghost towns as coal slowly goes bust, have reinvented themselves as ecotourism destinations.

In the U.S., former mining towns in Appalachia capitalize on their rural and mountainous terrains to offer visitors opportunities for camping, fishing, hiking, and shredding the gnar on mountain bikes, in addition to historical tours and tasty local cuisine.

Looking abroad, the naturally flat landscape of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin in France “has long been marred by terrils, or slag heaps, that tower like manmade mountains over the entire area. Stark and unusual, they’ve been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” and the region has turned to ecotourism to boost its economy.

Down Under, the Shire of Collie in Western Australia also offers pursuits for adrenaline junkies, and ups the ante with the Collie Mural Trail, an “expansive outdoor art gallery... comprising more than 40 murals, mostly painted by local artists.” It's inspiring to see these communities transform, phoenix-like, into vibrant, sustainable economies of the future!