Good morning and happy Friday,

​

This week, a series of severe storms and deadly tornadoes hit Iowa, claiming several lives and causing extensive damage – including to a wind farm that lost five turbines. While this is unusual – wind turbines are designed to handle high winds and even tornadoes – it’s also a sad irony that climate change is leading to more intense weather events that impact clean energy sources.  

Meanwhile, a new study finds that cells and modules are not responsible for most BESS failures – indeed, there was a 97% global drop in grid-scale battery failures between 2018 and 2023 – but this was overshadowed by a major fire at a battery facility in California that prompted evacuation orders and ultimately burned for five days.

ICYMI (we did!), Politico did a very deep dive on “the backbone of Biden’s legacy: the 2021 pandemic relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan; the bipartisan infrastructure law passed later that year; the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act; and the president’s premier climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.”

​

And if you or someone you know wants to go all-in on the clean energy transition, check out this new position with Bantam!

​

Read on for more.

​

​

Many Americans were wowed by the Northern Lights that occurred during the recent geomagnetic storm. Not to be outdone, this weekend, Minnesota put on its own display of light by passing the 2024 Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act. Here are some “highlights”:

• The Act will expedite the permitting process for renewable energy projects by 6-9 months, ensuring the state’s regulatory structures are equipped to meet the state’s 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 standard set by the legislature in 2023.
• The most significant changes in the legislation rewrite Minnesota’s existing site and route permit procedures to create two primary processes for permitting the state’s energy infrastructure facilities: (1) Major Review and (2) Standard Review.
• In addition, the law reduces the types of energy projects that require a certificate of need, establishes clear and consistent timelines for each stage of permit review, removes delay and duplication, requires state agencies to identify and solve problems early in the permitting process, and consolidate(s) Minnesota’s existing laws and rules regarding PUC permits into a single statute.

​

You betcha. Developers contemplating major new initiatives in Minnesota may wish to familiarize themselves with the native language – the video series “How to Talk Minnesotan” offers helpful guidance. With luck, the contagion will spread to D.C. and federal legislators will catch the bug. Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo. continue to work on their bipartisan permitting bill, with Manchin noting that rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.

President Biden’s signature climate legislation, the IRA, has come under ongoing attack from Republican officials – in the House, they’ve voted at least 31 times to rescind parts of the law. And while Republicans have traditionally sought to advance the interests of big business on many issues, in this case, that’s no longer a given. Here’s how things are shaping up:

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute largely opposed the IRA two years ago. Today, however, these two important trade groups are “already gearing up to preserve the law” and “ensure that the provisions that we support in the IRA sustain during a potential Trump administration.” 
• The two organizations see the IRA – or at least, core elements of it – delivering investment and job creation that’s benefitting their members and the larger economy. The Chamber says they’ll defend the IRA because it’s essential for “energy security, competitiveness, and the business case for the energy transition.” 
• A few industry groups that opposed the IRA at the time of its passage, such as the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable, and the National Mining Association, have yet to clarify their current stance. In any case, “The modern GOP is not as aligned with business groups as it once was,” so their positions may not have significant influence.

​

“Voting no and taking the dough.” Many Republicans have demonstrated hypocrisy regarding the IRA, bashing it whilst in DC only to smile for the cameras as new projects are announced in their districts. And there have been plenty of photo ops: according to Climate Power, at least 523 new projects have been announced since the IRA passed in August 2022, amounting to 271,713 new jobs and more than $352 billion in investments across 47 states and Puerto Rico as of February 2024.

• Over to You: Democrats refer Big Oil investigation to Justice Department
• Oy Vey: BloombergNEF’s New Energy Outlook estimates the world must invest $215 trillion by 2050 to zero out carbon emissions
• Safe Word: Hybrid projects dominate Western solar proposals, reflecting higher curtailment rates
• New Low: Saudi Arabia says it set a new record low price for wind power 
• Opinion: East Palestine derailment damaged my farm, opened my eyes. Ohio needs solar programs
• Tough Sledding: FERC passed big transmission reforms; now the hard part begins
• Hail Factory: Giant Hail Is the Weather Threat Keeping (Solar) Insurers Up at Night
• Oopsie: Anti-ESG laws hurting Texas economically, unpopular with voters
• Water We Waiting For?: California farmers are low on water. Why not help them go solar?
• Cowboy Up: Can Wyoming break with the federal government and become energy independent?
• “No Longer Necessary”: DeSantis begins repealing Florida’s renewable energy goals
• Suck It Up: The world’s largest direct air capture plant is set to open in Iceland this week

​

• IL: Committee gives Marblehead solar farm preliminary approval
• IL: Peoria County is attracting more attention from wind energy developers
• IA: Linn Co. moves to update regulations for wind energy projects
• PA: Centre County residents voice concerns over potential solar farm
• IN: Ground broken on Posey County solar farm
• TN: Large solar farm coming to Cumberland County
• MN: Council sides with neighbors, says no to solar farm
• MN: County votes down wind, solar project moratorium
• MI: Massive solar farm in Muskegon County could power 40,000 homes
• TX: Construction Complete on Vast New Solar Farm
• TX: Bechtel completes Sabanci's 218-MW solar farm 
• KS: Crawford Co. moves forward with comprehensive plan
• AR: Benton County planners approve Beaver Water solar project plan

Colorado is already a leader in clean energy –  it currently ranks seventh in per capita renewable energy production – and new legislation signed by Governor Jared Polis this week positions the state to continue this positive trend.

“Local Govs Renewable Energy Projects,” aka Senate Bill 24-212, gives local governments the resources they need to assess, site and permit utility-scale renewable energy projects while also considering community values, including impacts to lands and wildlife.

Siting and permitting renewable energy projects requires a lot of collaboration among state agencies, local governments, and developers. While timely progress is always desirable, it must be balanced against protections designed to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to wildlife and the desire to maximize benefits for communities.

SB24-212 contains several provisions to help accomplish this. It directs Colorado Parks and Wildlife to maintain publicly available maps of habitats where utility-scale wind and solar development could adversely impact wildlife populations, and to update best management practices around sitng projects in sensitive habitats.

The new law also directs the Colorado Energy Office to develop a repository for model regulations that can serve as templates for local governments to adopt policies that support both renewable energy development and wildlife resources.

Additionally, the bill directs the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission to provide technical support for local governments updating their land use codes and assessing individual projects. And last but not least, local governments are required to consult with Tribal Nations for projects proposed in the Brunot Treaty area where Tribes have hunting, fishing and gathering treaty rights.

The Centennial State has a goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2040, which will require an estimated three-fold increase in wind generation and a five-fold increase in solar generation, and SB 24-212 is an important step toward achieving this.

​

​