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Tag: Alternative energy industry

  • Arizona company adds $1B solar power parts plant in Alabama

    Arizona company adds $1B solar power parts plant in Alabama

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Arizona-based First Solar Inc. has selected Alabama as the site of a more than $1 billion factory that will manufacture modules that generate solar power, the company announced Wednesday.

    First Solar said in a statement that the plant, to be located in Lawrence County in the Tennessee Valley region, will create more than 700 jobs.

    The factory is part of a previously announced plan to increase First Solar’s U.S. manufacturing capacity to more than 10 gigawatts by 2025, the company said. It already has three factories in Ohio, one of which is expected to begin production next year.

    First Solar describes itself as the only major solar manufacturer that has headquarters in the United States and is not making components in China. The project will bring the company’s total investment in U.S. manufacturing to more than $4 billion, it said.

    A bill signed by President Joe Biden in August will direct spending, tax credits and loans to bolster technology like solar panels; consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency; emissions-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants; and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities.

    First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said that legislation “has firmly placed America on the path to a sustainable energy future” and the new plants will help with the transition toward cleaner energy, which supporters say will help stem climate change.

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    This story has been corrected to reflect that the plant will be in Lawrence County.

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  • Norwegian battery firm plans $2.6 billion plant in Georgia

    Norwegian battery firm plans $2.6 billion plant in Georgia

    ATLANTA — A Norwegian company will build a giant electric battery factory just southwest of Atlanta, company and state officials announced Friday, investing up to $2.6 billion over multiple phases.

    Freyr Battery said it would build an initial plant that would produce batteries that could hold 34 gigawatt hours of electricity each year. Among battery plants currently operating, that would be the second-largest worldwide, behind a factory owned by Panasonic and Tesla in Nevada.

    Freyr CEO Tom Jensen told attendees at the announcement in the Atlanta suburb of Newnan that the company’s vision of using renewable energy to make batteries could play an important role in reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation and transportation. The company’s initial plan is targeted toward storing electricity produced by renewable sources and releasing it later, but Jensen said sales to vehicle makers could also be included.

    Jensen said battery production is a “massive growth opportunity,” predicting 70% of decarbonization efforts will somehow include batteries.

    “We want to build something that matters, something that we can be proud of something that will matter for our children,” Jensen said. “Because at the end of the day, the world needs to rapidly decarbonize the society.”

    The company said it plans an initial investment of $1.7 billion, and would hire 720 people at a site it has purchased in an industrial park near Newnan, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southwest of Atlanta. Phases through 2029 involving $700 million of additional investment could include more production lines, material processing and other activities.

    Employees are projected to make an average of $60,284 a year, said Molly Giddens of the Coweta County Development Authority.

    Freyr, named for the Norse god of peace and fertility, rain, and sunshine, is also building a large factory in northern Norway and is planning a battery cell production facility in Vaasa, Finland.

    The company aims to make batteries, an electricity-intensive process, using renewable energy. In Georgia, that could mean buying electricity from a dedicated solar facility with battery storage run by a third party, the company said.

    Freyr said it looked at 130 sites in 25 states before selecting Georgia, citing the availability of engineers trained by Georgia Tech and other schools, job training, and proximity to Atlanta’s big airport, Savannah’s port, railroads and highways.

    The company said it sees opportunities in the United States in part because of incentives for renewable energy passed by Congress earlier this year. Freyr said it intends to seek federal grants or loans.

    In addition, the company said it is getting “strong” financial incentives from state and local officials in Georgia. The state plans to pay for worker training, and Freyr will eligible for up to $4.5 million in state income tax credits over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. Coweta County will give property tax breaks for 20 years, Giddens said, not disclosing a projected value. She said the company would also get a “quality jobs creation grant.”

    It’s the second huge battery factory announced in Georgia. Korean firm SK Innovation has built a $2.6 billion plant in Commerce, northeast of Atlanta, with plans to hire 2,600 workers eventually.

    The state has targeted the electric vehicle industry. Hyundai Motor Group has announced plans to invest $5.5 billion in a plant near Savannah and hire 8,100 workers, also planning to make batteries there. Electric truck maker Rivian has plans to build a plant east of Atlanta, investing $5 billion and employing 7,500 workers.

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    Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.

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  • Feds unveil plan to grow wind power while sparing rare whale

    Feds unveil plan to grow wind power while sparing rare whale

    PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government has outlined a strategy to try to protect an endangered species of whale while also developing offshore wind power off the East Coast.

    President Joe Biden’s administration has made a priority of encouraging offshore wind along the Atlantic coast as the U.S. pursues greater energy independence. Those waters are also home to the declining North Atlantic right whale, which numbers about 340 in the world.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a draft plan this month to conserve the whales while allowing for the building of wind projects. The agencies said the ongoing efforts to save the whales and create more renewable energy can coexist.

    “As we face the ongoing challenges of climate change, this strategy provides a strong foundation to help us advance renewable energy while also working to protect and recover North Atlantic right whales, and the ecosystem they depend on,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries

    The development of offshore wind is going on along the migratory routes of the whales, which travel from Georgia and Florida to New England and Canada every year. That potentially leaves the whales vulnerable to disturbance or injury. The agencies said they plan to provide offshore wind developers with guidance about mitigation measures to help navigate the regulatory process as part of the whale strategy.

    The strategy focuses on “improving the science and integrating past, present and future efforts related to North Atlantic right whales and offshore wind development,” said Jon Hare, the director of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and a lead author on the document. It also identifies mitigation measures related to project planning, leasing and siting, he said.

    The right whales have been declining in recent years and face threats such as collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear. Environmentalist groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, have called for more protections for the whales.

    The protection strategy is promising, but it needs funding for implementation and requirements for measures that minimize harm to the whales, said Alison Chase, a senior policy analyst with the council. Those include speed and noise reductions, Chase said.

    “We need offshore wind, and we need to do it right,” Chase said. “But as we fight climate change, we must avoid, minimize, and mitigate threats to ocean life in whatever ways we can.”

    The government will take public comment on the draft strategy until Dec. 4.

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  • Feds unveil plan to grow wind power while sparing rare whale

    Feds unveil plan to grow wind power while sparing rare whale

    PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government has outlined a strategy to try to protect an endangered species of whale while also developing offshore wind power off the East Coast.

    President Joe Biden’s administration has made a priority of encouraging offshore wind along the Atlantic coast as the U.S. pursues greater energy independence. Those waters are also home to the declining North Atlantic right whale, which numbers about 340 in the world.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a draft plan this month to conserve the whales while allowing for the building of wind projects. The agencies said the ongoing efforts to save the whales and create more renewable energy can coexist.

    “As we face the ongoing challenges of climate change, this strategy provides a strong foundation to help us advance renewable energy while also working to protect and recover North Atlantic right whales, and the ecosystem they depend on,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries

    The development of offshore wind is going on along the migratory routes of the whales, which travel from Georgia and Florida to New England and Canada every year. That potentially leaves the whales vulnerable to disturbance or injury. The agencies said they plan to provide offshore wind developers with guidance about mitigation measures to help navigate the regulatory process as part of the whale strategy.

    The strategy focuses on “improving the science and integrating past, present and future efforts related to North Atlantic right whales and offshore wind development,” said Jon Hare, the director of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and a lead author on the document. It also identifies mitigation measures related to project planning, leasing and siting, he said.

    The right whales have been declining in recent years and face threats such as collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear. Environmentalist groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, have called for more protections for the whales.

    The protection strategy is promising, but it needs funding for implementation and requirements for measures that minimize harm to the whales, said Alison Chase, a senior policy analyst with the council. Those include speed and noise reductions, Chase said.

    “We need offshore wind, and we need to do it right,” Chase said. “But as we fight climate change, we must avoid, minimize, and mitigate threats to ocean life in whatever ways we can.”

    The government will take public comment on the draft strategy until Dec. 4.

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  • US proposal would permit eagle deaths as renewables expand

    US proposal would permit eagle deaths as renewables expand

    BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration on Thursday proposed a new permitting program for wind energy turbines, power lines and other projects that kill eagles, amid growing concern among scientists that the rapid expansion of renewable energy in the U.S. West could harm golden eagle populations now teetering on decline.

    The Fish and Wildlife Service program announced Thursday is meant to encourage companies to work with officials to minimize harm to golden and bald eagles.

    It’s also aimed at avoiding any slowdown in the growth of wind power as an alternative to carbon-emitting fossil fuels — a key piece of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda. It comes after several major utilities have been federally prosecuted in recent years for killing large numbers of eagles without permits.

    The federal government already issues permits to kill eagles. But Thursday’s proposal calls for new permits tailored to wind-energy projects, power line networks and the disturbance of breeding bald eagles and bald eagle nests.

    Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said the new program would provide “multiple pathways to obtain a permit” while also helping conserve eagles, which she described as a key responsibility for the agency.

    Bald eagle numbers have quadrupled since 2009 to about 350,000 birds. There are only about about 40,000 golden eagles, which need much larger areas to survive and are more inclined to have trouble with humans.

    The number of wind turbines nationwide more than doubled over the past decade to almost 72,000, according to U.S. Geological Survey data, with development overlapping prime golden eagle territory in states including Wyoming, Montana, California, Washington and Oregon.

    In April, a subsidiary of the Florida-based utility industry giant NextEra Energy pleaded guilty in federal court in Wyoming to criminal violations of wildlife protection laws after its wind turbines killed more than 100 golden eagles in eight states. It was the third conviction of a major wind company for killing eagles in a decade.

    Federal officials won’t divulge how many eagles are reported killed by wind farms, saying it’s sensitive law enforcement information.

    Nationwide, 34 permits in place last year authorized companies to “take” 170 golden eagles — meaning that many birds could be killed by turbines or lost through impacts on nests or habitat, according to permitting data obtained by The Associated Press. More than 200 permits were in place to allow the killing of 420 bald eagles, according to the data.

    For each loss, companies are responsible for ensuring at least one eagle death is avoided somewhere else.

    Illegal shootings are the biggest cause of death for golden eagles, killing about 700 annually, according to federal estimates. More than 600 die annually in collisions with cars, wind turbines and power lines; about 500 annually are electrocuted; and more than 400 are poisoned.

    Yet climate change looms as a potentially greater threat: Rising temperatures are projected to reduce golden eagle breeding ranges by more than 40% later this century, according to a National Audubon Society analysis.

    “Birds tell us that climate change is the biggest threat they face,” said Garry George, director of the National Audubon Society’s Clean Energy Initiative. If it’s executed responsibly, he said the new program could strengthen protections for eagles as renewable energy expands.

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    On Twitter follow Matthew Brown: @MatthewBrownAP

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