Data centers want a direct connection to nuclear

NUCLEAR: Tech companies increasingly seek to directly connect data centers to nuclear plants, a concept that has drawn opposition from some utilities that claim it would harm other ratepayers. (Canary Media, CNBC)

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POLITICS:

• Vice President Kamala Harris’ track record of advocating for communities of color suggests she’ll prioritize environmental justice if she’s elected president. (Politico)
• Industry leaders join some House Republicans urging former President Trump to retain Inflation Reduction Act incentives if he’s elected. (Axios)

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RENEWABLES:

• Washington state, Vermont and South Dakota all generated more than 80% of their power from clean sources in 2022. (Canary Media)
• Wind and solar are booming in Texas, but the state’s standalone grid means it’s not sharing its renewable power surplus with the rest of the U.S. and can’t ask for outside help when there are blackouts. (CleanTechnica)

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SOLAR:

• The U.S. Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office announces a $1.45 billion conditional loan to South Korea’s Qcells as it builds a panel manufacturing facility in Georgia. (Reuters)
• An intensive 13-week training course in Illinois is connecting workers from underrepresented backgrounds to employers as part of a broader effort to create 1,000 solar jobs in Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods. (Energy News Network)
• A firm pauses permitting on a proposed utility-scale solar project in eastern Washington after tribal nations push back on concerns the development would harm cultural sites. (High Country News)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The market slowdown around electric vehicles causes concern about the sector’s leading role in Georgia’s manufacturing renaissance, which one state official has called the state’s second industrial revolution. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

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WIND: Despite the depiction of toppled wind turbines in this summer’s sequel to “Twister,” researchers say turbines are generally built to withstand extreme winds and tornadoes. (E&E News)

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MANUFACTURING: Around 40% of the largest manufacturing investments announced in the year after the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act have since been delayed due to market conditions and uncertainty around the next presidential administration, a news organization’s analysis finds. (Financial Times, subscription)

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CARBON CAPTURE: A California nonprofit finds state plans to capture and sequester 50 million tons of carbon dioxide would require about 1,150 miles of new pipelines and other infrastructure. (Capital & Main)

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