Good morning and happy Friday,

This week, President Biden gave his farewell address to the nation, issuing stark warnings including that “the existential threat of climate change has never been clearer.” 

As President-elect Trump prepares to take office on Monday, the Senate held confirmation hearings for his cabinet picks for energy and environment. Oil exec and DOE nominee Chris Wright committed to growing our electricity grid; hearings for Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum and EPA nominee Lee Zeldin were held Thursday.

Trump is expected to issue “energy dominance” executive orders after inauguration; here’s a look at some of his likely first moves on energy policy.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires continue to rage; AccuWeather estimates the cost will exceed $250 billion, but a Politico reporter who lives in Altadena spoke with neighbors and found few cited climate change as the chief culprit.

Read on for more.

On Tuesday, President Biden signed a “sweeping executive order” designed to ensure the U.S. doesn’t get “out-built” in terms of data centers to support the growth of AI – which could increase to 9% of the nation’s energy use by 2030 (EPRI), or possibly 12% by 2028 (LBNL). Here’s what’s happening:

• The executive order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure directs the DOD and DOE to identify “at least three federal sites on which data centers and related clean power supplies could be built and operated by private entities by the end of 2027.”
• In theory, the order “aims to fortify two parts of Biden’s legacy: boosting low-carbon energy and made-in-the-USA technology.” It requires data center operators to either source their power directly from clean sources or achieve low-carbon power through hourly matching.
• Not everyone is chuffed with the order. Environmental advocates are concerned that it allows “categorical exclusions” under NEPA...more like exclusions from bedrock environmental law, preferential access, and special treatment for Big Tech, say some.

Uncertain future. Issued less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the fate of the order is uncertain: on one hand, it “could prove appealing” to the incoming administration; that said, Trump – who “has pushed for more oil and gas drilling to power data centers” – could also “rescind all or parts of” it. We’ll be watching as things develop!

A trio of new studies published this week offer a range of information relevant to renewable energy development. LBNL updated their Queued Up report with new findings on interconnection barriers, and NREL finds that the U.S. could deploy up to 84 GW on federal land by 2035, and separately that floating solar panels on federal reservoirs could power one million homes annually. Here’s the CliffsNotes version:

• The new LBNL report Grid connection barriers to renewable energy deployment in the United States finds that the interconnection queue backlog is bigger than ever; time spent in queues has increased by 70% over the last decade, withdrawal rates remain high at 80%, interconnection costs have gone up, and are highest for wind, solar, and battery storage projects.
• NREL’s analysis says that 10% of the clean energy needed to reach net zero emissions in the U.S. could be generated on federal lands; notably, while about 12% of domestic fossil fuel production occurs on federal lands, the figure for renewable generation is only 4%.
• The floating solar study notes that the technology offers “a host of attractive benefits relative to ground-mount photovoltaics,” and offers the AquaPV Toolset to support the techno-economic analysis of floating PV systems.

Unlock the surplus. In terms of interconnection issues, there’s hope on the horizon, at least in PJM: filings this week at FERC indicated broad support for the ISO’s proposal to “expand access to the grid through underused interconnection capacity” which could “unlock more than 26 GW of accredited capacity for the 2026/2027 delivery year.” Trade associations, including ACP and SEIA, submitted comments in favor of the proposal. 

• Big Personalities: Trump energy world is getting crowded
• Locked In: Biden Trump-proofs $74bn in climate funding but $20bn remains vulnerable
• Struggling: Senate majority leader Thune acknowledges hurdles to overturning Biden rules
• Surging: 2025 FERC, DOE Outlook: Demand growth to drive power-sector agenda 
• Crystal Ball: What to expect from state governments on renewable energy policy in 2025 
• $1.5 Billion Boost: DOE finalizes major power line contracts 
• State of Play: How states will keep fighting for climate progress under Trump
• Wild, Wild West: Tycoon’s plan for US data centers ignores grid reality
• Dilemma: Are renewable energy credits enough? Big tech companies take contrasting approaches to cleaning up their act 
• Irony, Continued: Musk made a fortune on climate credits. Trump is targeting them. 
• Team Effort: New solar research center targets rapid utility-scale expansion 
• Invested in Opposition: How a Maryland county tried to sway a Delaware vote on offshore wind
• Nice Margins: Illinois lawmakers send renewable energy storage plan to governor
• Nuanced Argument: Maine looks to battery storage for electrical power, but who would own it is unclear
• Significant Impacts: US battery market faces possible ‘significant tariff impacts’: Clean Energy Associates 
• Dust and Noise: As world grapples with wood pellets’ climate impacts, North Carolina communities contend with the impact of their production
• Banned: 5 solar companies included in latest batch of banned entities under UFLPA 
• New Report: Offshore Energy at Work - Oceantic Network

• DE: US Wind files appeal against Sussex County Council's permit denial and US Wind appeals county’s denial of substation permit
• IA: Another town hall to be held for solar and wind projects ordinance proposals
• IL: Sun not setting on Will County solar developments
• MD: Worcester County and Ocean City launches campaign against offshore wind project
• MI: Long-stalled solar farm development could be returning to Grass Lake
• NJ: State Republican says he’s collaborating with Trump on new offshore wind ban executive order and Trump’s offshore wind ban is coming, congressman says
• NY: Solar developer makes progress in state permitting process for proposed Fenner solar project
• OH: Birch Solar project suspended after group withdraws appeal
• WA: Tri-City lawmaker files bill to limit governor’s authority
• WA: Whitman County Commissioners issue moratorium on wind energy projects
• WI: Western clean energy projects receive federal funds
• VA: Proposed ordinance could drastically expand solar usage in rural Albemarle County
• VA: Fauquier supervisors approve Bealeton solar farm
• VA: Council strikes down solar farm amid noise concerns

Don’t tell the sheep, but we’ve got some baaad news: a drone is coming to take their jobs.

Agricultural drone manufacturer Hylio has introduced a new drone that, in addition to spraying herbicides to combat vegetation growth, can also help automate solar panel maintenance by removing dust and debris.

The Hylio AG-210 is “small and nimble,” and importantly, it’s FAA authorized and NDAA compliant, meaning it “meets legal requirements to be flown safely within residential and mixed-use areas, as well as government property.”

The company says the AG-210 Enterprise Kit “includes the fully autonomous, four-rotor UAS platform equipped with a high-precision spraying system consisting of one 2.6-gallon tank, TeeJet nozzles, and electronic flowmeters. The AG-210 is equipped with two wide-angle radars so it can detect and avoid obstacles in real-time, a built-in HD camera and redundant GPS units.”

That’s all well and good, but can it make tasty cheese and warm sweaters? While automating the removal of dust and debris sounds great, particularly in desert settings, when it comes to vegetation control, we’re still rooting for the sheep!