Good morning and Happy New Year!! 🎉🎈🎊

We hope your holidays were relaxing and you’re well rested, because it’s going to be a busy month, particularly in our nation’s capital. Notable activities include memorial events for President Jimmy Carter, whose environmental legacy set the foundation for today’s climate action.

There are more than a few similarities between Carter and Biden, who in one of his last acts has set an ambitious goal of cutting U.S. GHG emissions by more than 60% by 2035, something incoming President Trump is hellbent on reversing.

As most Dispatch readers are likely aware, permitting reform efforts collapsed mid-December, followed by lots of finger-pointing; on a more upbeat note, renewables produced 24% of U.S. electricity in the first 10 months of 2024, with 30% of total utility-scale capacity coming from renewables, a number that’s on track to reach 37% by the end of 2027.

Read on for more.

A new report looks at “complex networks of opposition to offshore wind on the U.S. East Coast,” finding that “the discourses and strategies of local opposition groups are influenced by relationships with national-level groups and fossil fuel interests.” Here’s the skinny:

• The study maps out the connections between local East Coast groups that oppose offshore wind projects and conservative think tanks with fossil fuel interests such as the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the Heartland Institute. 
• The authors found that local anti-offshore wind groups benefited from resources shared by the think tanks which included legal expertise and a network of support in which “fossil fuel interests...are heavily entrenched.”
• Importantly, a key resource shared with the groups is “massive and varied ‘information subsidies’” that enable them to “spread numerous claims emphasizing the downsides of offshore wind” – “and by doing so, knowingly or unknowingly, support fossil fuel industry agendas.”

Know thy enemy. The authors emphasize that “understanding this new movement is critical: it is galvanizing substantial opposition to renewable energy projects, demobilizing politicians' support for offshore wind, and peeling off self-described environmentalists to oppose the projects. Failing to understand the nature of this new national network and its local elements leaves scientists, project developers, government officials and civil society groups unable to effectively respond. Even the best community outreach programs may be doomed if they fail to understand how these networks operate.”

It’s no secret that there’s dissension in the ranks of the GOP regarding the IRA, with some calling for its wholesale elimination, and others openly worried about incoming President Trump’s threats to roll back the legislation. For its part, ACP commissioned a study that found the IRA will deliver a fourfold return on taxpayer investment. Here are some key deets:

• Conducted by ICF, the study analyzed the broad impacts of the IRA across multiple sectors, finding it will have a lasting impact on the U.S. economy by incentivizing significant investments, creating millions of jobs, and boosting economic growth.
• Headline impacts over the next ten years include spurring $3.8 trillion in net spending across the U.S. economy, creating a 4x return on taxpayer investment; growing the U.S. economy by $1.9 trillion; and delivering an expected 13.7 million jobs. 
• In addition to ACP, the other organizations endorsing the report are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the National Hydropower Association (NHA), and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

Raucous wrangling. Republicans on a mission to dismantle the IRA will have their work cut out for them; as Politico noted, GOP leaders face some challenging disconnects in the party, and while “they can preach unity...they have no room for error as they wrangle at-times raucous members with varied priorities.” For his part, retiring Senator Manchin said he believes some portions of the IRA ‘almost’ have to stay under Trump.

• Xmas Present: PG&E gets $15B loan guarantee from DOE for hydropower, battery buildout  
• Batteries Up!: 2024 was a fantastic year for energy storage 
• Pillow Talk: Clean energy industry groups cozy up to GOP
• Triple Dip: Data center energy demand could triple by 2028 – DOE
• Pitch & Push: Green-energy firms’ pitch to Trump: You’re going to need a lot of power and How Trump’s AI, crypto push would spur clean energy
• Get Ready: Big Tech will rule the grid in 2025
• Lights Out: In the shadows of Arizona’s data center boom, thousands live without power
• PBS Newshour Video: Researchers race to answer questions about the unintended consequences of wind energy
• High Sodium Content: The unlikely ingredient that could end U.S. dependence on Chinese batteries 
• Chart-o-rama: Wind and solar overtook coal on the US grid in 2024 and The clean energy transition, in 10 charts and 6 charts that show how the grid is getting cleaner 
• Quiz: How well do you remember 2024’s clean energy news? 
• Interesting Footnote: A 2025 clean energy transition wish list 
• Long Read: Liebreich: Generative AI – The power and the glory
• Nutmeg Conundrum: Developers propose billions for Connecticut battery farms – but where? 
• Hopes Dashed?: REC Silicon shuts down Moses Lake polysilicon plant 
• Empowered: USDA Empowering Rural America program announces $4.37 billion in clean energy investments and Texas coal plant to switch to solar + storage by 2027 
• Upheld: Global warming can't be ignored, Montana's top court says, upholding landmark climate case 
• A Lil’ Snark: The real scam: rail against renewables, run away with factories  

• AR: The largest commercial and industrial solar project in state history is underway
• AZ: Lava Run Wind Farm sparks aviation safety concerns in Springerville
• CO: Pike solar project gains state approval
• IA: Supervisors in Cerro Gordo County pass ordinance to prohibit BESS on agricultural land 
• IN: Large solar project planned for reclaimed mine land
• KY: East Kentucky Power granted approval for solar facilities
• MA: Feds approve 11th offshore project, Ocean Winds' 2.4 GW SouthCoast Wind
• MD: In-person hearing set for Sykesville solar facility proposed on farmland
• MI: State plans to clear 400+ acres of state forest near Gaylord for solar farm
• MO: Grain Belt route removed from federal transmission program – but project will go forward 
• NJ: Supply chain woes could delay Leading Light offshore wind project – again
• NY: Fed hostility could delay offshore wind projects
• PA: Solar developer appealing Newton Twp.’s denial of farm
• WI: Wisconsin PSC approves 1.3 GW Vista Sands, one of the largest solar projects in the US 
• WY: Opponents want to stop $500M wind farm, say it will kill eagles and bats

As we dive headlong into what is sure to be another wild year for clean energy, HeatMap News came up with a list of climate technologies to watch in 2025. Drumroll please:

First up is green methanol. We’ve mentioned green hydrogen many times in the Dispatch; producing this fuel relies on similar technology, with the added benefit that it converts carbon dioxide into methanol, which can then be used as a climate-friendly shipping and aviation fuel.

Next is solar geoengineering, which involves spraying aerosols into the sky to enable clouds to reflect more sunlight away from Earth, aka “marine cloud brightening.” There are a lot of concerns about unintended consequences, but discussions are ongoing.

Third is floating solar, which probably isn’t a revolutionary concept for most Dispatch readers, followed by soil carbon sequestration, which we’ve also covered a few times. This one has the potential to be “a holy grail thing” if the details can be worked out.

Last on HeatMap’s list was a new one for them, and for us, too: parametric insurance, which “automatically provides rapid payouts to customers in the case of natural disasters or weather events, assuming these events exceed a predefined limit...with the amount tied to how much the measurement deviates from the limit, not the damages incurred.” This falls under the category of “adaptation,” and certainly seems like something to watch.

It's a great list, but we want to add one more thing: a perennial Last Byte favorite, nuclear fusion. In December, the startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced plans to build the ‘world’s first’ grid-scale nuclear fusion power plant near Richmond, VA. The company hopes the 400 MW facility will be able to deliver power by the early 2030s. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on that!