IRA investments keep rolling out

CLEAN ENERGY: The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred more than $115 billion in clean energy manufacturing investment in its first two years, with a sodium battery plant and a solar panel factory among the latest project announcements. (Canary Media)

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ALSO:

• In Detroit and Chicago, efforts to improve access to clean energy in underserved neighborhoods pose complex questions about the use of vacant land for projects. (Energy News Network)
• A University of Wisconsin researcher finds that the long process of securing approvals from tribal and federal entities contributes to the lack of commercial-scale wind and solar development on reservations. (Grist)

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OIL & GAS:

• Six major U.S. universities have accepted more than $100 million from oil and gas companies over the last 20 years, placed fossil fuel leaders among their boards, and failed to disclose conflicts of interest for fossil fuel industry research, student organizers report. (The Guardian)
• The push to build data centers to support artificial intelligence will likely contribute to more methane emissions as more gas plants come online, according to an environmental data firm’s new report. (The New Republic)
• New Mexico advocates warn that Project 2025, the right-wing playbook for a second Trump administration, calls for nixing the oil and gas drilling ban around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (NM Political Report)

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BUILDINGS:

• Democratic U.S. senators ask the Federal Housing Finance Agency to instate a building efficiency standard for new homes that would effectively become a national rule and help curb energy costs. (Grist)
• Maine uses Inflation Reduction Act funds to launch a $36 million home energy rebate program focused on heat pumps and electrification, first targeting low-income families but expanding to moderate-income ones next year. (Maine Monitor)
• California advocates say slow grid connections are stifling electric truck charging infrastructure buildout and zero-emission big-rig adoption. (Canary Media)

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WIND: Opposition to offshore wind projects along the East Coast can be traced back to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fight against wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound near his family’s Cape Cod estate. (Inside Climate News)

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UTILITIES: Orlando, Florida’s municipal utility moves to build two new solar facilities, add battery storage and jettison 90% of its fossil fuel plants, but customers push back against plans to charge more for power during peak times and decrease solar net metering payments. (Orlando Sentinel)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the company still plans to phase out internal combustion light-duty vehicles by 2035. (CBS News)
• Many Rivian drivers have yet to receive adapters that would allow them to charge their vehicles at Tesla charging stations, a year after the initiative was announced. (Inside Climate News)
• Virginia struggles to develop the procedures and protocols needed for its electric vehicle infrastructure buildout, but the process is accelerating to take advantage of federal subsidies. (Virginia Mercury)

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