Good morning and happy Friday,

 Welp, the chaos continued in Washington this week as the Trump administration 

all but paralyzed permitting on solar and wind projects as the Army Corps of Engineers halted processing 168 pending environmental permits.

 Against this backdrop, clean energy advocates descended on our nation’s capital in a lobbying blitz geared toward saving IRA tax credits; one notable shift is that many of those participating sported lapel pins proclaiming “American Energy Dominance.”

 A top talking point for solar supporters was a new SEIA report that finds the U.S has surpassed 50 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity.

 And, the Senate confirmed fracking executive Chris Wright as energy secretary; following Doug Burgum’s confirmation as Interior secretary last week, he’s already taking actions, some of which may not be so great for the Greater Sage-Grouse.

 On a brighter note, a new BloombergNEF report finds that global investment in the energy transition exceeded $2 trillion for the first time in 2024.

Read on for more.

Dispatch readers know that Ohio – or as we’ve written, “Ohi-no” – is a tough place to develop renewable energy, particularly since 2021, when SB52 gave local governments the ability to ban new utility-scale wind and solar projects. However, at least for solar, an unlikely ally has emerged in the form of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Here’s the haps:

• The Chamber has come a long way since 2014, when it “aligned with fossil fuel interests as they pushed to halt the state’s modest clean energy standards.” In 2021 it opposed SB52, and in 2022 it adopted a Blueprint for Ohio’s Economic Future, which “identifies energy as a core part of infrastructure needed for economic growth.”
• Although it still “opposes clean energy mandates,” the Chamber has “become more vocal in recent years in supporting utility-scale solar projects,” including “siding with solar companies in two Ohio Supreme Court appeals where the Ohio Power Siting Board had denied permits."
• The Chamber has indicated it would “support changes to SB52’s limits on renewable energy facilities,” noting that “We believe that power generation decisions should be made on a statewide basis, not a township or county basis, because the grid is very complicated.”

“Bigger than someone’s backyard.” Solar projects – and the economic development they embody – should be considered holistically. Ohio clean-energy advocates are optimistic support from business groups will help “erode ...entrenched opposition to clean energy;” one state politician observes that business groups’ support for renewables is natural, because they “are, at their very core, capitalists,” and “for Ohio to not want to play in the new energy economy just takes money out of people’s pocketbooks.”

Transmission is a hot topic for renewable energy developers, and this week three articles looked at this issue, covering a recent report from RMI, actions by the California PUC, and an analysis of the benefits of building a new 765-kV transmission “backbone” in Texas. Here’s what you need to know:

• Released in November, RMI’s Mind the Regulatory Gap report argues that greater regulatory oversight of small, local transmission projects is essential to ensure they are designed to enhance and integrate well with regional projects. 
• In California, the CPUC is streamlining its transmission permitting requirements. Specifically, the revised rules allow transmission developers to “submit a draft version of California Environmental Quality Act documents instead of an environmental assessment,” which will speed up permit reviews.
• And in Texas, a new analysis from ERCOT finds that constructing a new 765-kV line “will cost only 4% more than expanding the existing 345-kV system;” doing so would facilitate anticipated load growth, “lower congestion costs and energy losses, boost transfer capabilities and improve electric reliability.”

Mind the ratepayer. While the action in California and Texas may have a more immediate impact for developers with projects in those states, RMI’s report gets at a more overarching issue, namely that because small transmission projects involve less oversight relative to big ones, utilities favor them – “and consumers are paying the price.” Utilities are incentivized to build smaller projects that “earn them guaranteed profits,” but “longer-range, higher-voltage power lines...can deliver far greater benefits per dollar of investment than piecemeal, utility-by-utility buildouts.”

• Wright Away: DOE to focus on expanding baseload generation
• Looking for Answers: How 3 IRA projects are dealing with the spending freeze 
• Update: SoCal Edison investigating 'every possibility' for cause of Eaton Fire, including its own equipment
• No More Juice?: Trump’s cuts to renewables risk US energy crisis, warn executives 
• More Seafront Property?: John Curtis wants to be Trump’s climate guy 
• Ripple Effect: US-China trade war rattles energy sector
• Digestive Aid?: Where Trump officials stand on biofuels 
• Danger List: Here's every Biden-era energy loan – now all under threat from the new administration 
• Wait and See: Utilities await clarity on DOE loans as decisive court battle looms 
• Dizzying: As new administration purges climate data and web pages, research groups scramble to save information and Federal agencies scrub climate change from websites amid Trump rebranding 
• Community Disservice: Community solar may be under threat under the new administration
• Reevaluating: States and counties weigh safety risks of much-needed energy storage
• Fuggetaboutit: Murphy administration gives up on more offshore wind
• Hitting Pause: Supervisors enact emergency moratorium on new BESS following Moss Landing fire 
• Beyond Fossil Fuels: Middle East becomes fastest-growing renewables market outside China  

• AZ: BESS startup KORE bails on highly-anticipated $1.2B lithium-ion plant, CEO and founder steps down 
• CT: Proposed bills would give municipalities ability to restrict solar facilities
• IL: Permit application for wind farm north of Charleston submitted to Coles County Board
• MI: Rep. Bohnak pushes to restore local control over wind farm and solar siting
• MN: Rural counties work together to simplify clean energy development and maximize local benefits
• NM: Planning Commission approves controversial Rancho Viejo Solar project; opponents vow appeal
• NJ: State nixes plans for fourth wind farm award
• NJ: Wind farm developer said project will continue despite loss of major investor
• NY: Lewiston Town Board reviews solar farm proposal at Modern
• NY: Solar project planned for Brasher and Massena
• OK: McIntosh County wind project canceled
• NY: Trump order could kill project that was set to bring 750 union jobs to Staten Island
• PA: Zoning application for solar farm in North Sewickley Township denied
• RI: Trump’s offshore wind pause could hit region’s economy, congressmen say, vowing to fight for projects underway
• VA: CVOW offshore wind project gets pricier but remains on schedule despite moratorium 

In the search for affordable, low-impact, carbon-free sources of electricity, wave power is an “almost magical-sounding resource.” Waves are energy-dense, much less intermittent than wind and solar, and wave power installations don’t require subsea collection and transmission cables, so environmental permitting is much simpler and faster.

 What’s more, about 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. This last point means it’s possible to avoid spending “untold billions” on transmission lines to get power to people...”the T&D equivalent of a farm-to-table restaurant, if you will.”

 Have we piqued your interest? Well, the story gets even better, because it turns out the reigning “Queen of the Waves” is a Chernobyl survivor. Inna Braverman was born in Ukraine on April 11, 1986, 15 days before the Chernobyl disaster, and was pushed to clinical death by the explosion – but was brought back to life by her mother, a nurse.

 As she grew up, Inna was determined to “really do something” with her second chance at life, and found renewable energy. She passed over wind and solar because they were already well-developed and landed on wave power as “a game changer.”

Today, as CEO of Eco Wave Power (NASDAQ US: WAVE), she’s already collaborated with EDF Renewables Israel to launch the EWP-EDF One power station. Next stop? “Surfin’ USA” – specifically, a large external breakwater in the Port of Los Angeles. She has other countries in her sights as well.

 The article notes that “In Slavic, ‘Inna’ means ‘strong water.’ So far, it has proven to be a fitting moniker.” You go girl – ride that wave.