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Tag: green energy

  • Plug Power Stock: Dead, or a Future Clean-Energy Beast in the Making?

    Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), a developer of hydrogen charging technologies, went public in 1999 at an IPO price of $150, adjusted for a reverse split. Today, it trades at about $2. Is this green energy stock dead, or will it recover and deliver massive gains for its patient investors?

    Plug initially planned to build hydrogen charging systems for entire homes. However, high infrastructure costs, regulatory challenges, and soft consumer demand derailed those plans, and it pivoted toward selling hydrogen cells, electrolyzers, and storage systems.

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    Image source: Getty Images.

    Today, the company generates most of its revenue by selling fuel cells and charging systems for Amazon‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart‘s (NASDAQ: WMT) hydrogen-powered forklifts. Those two retail giants are also the company’s largest investors. As of this writing, it’s deployed 72,000 fuel cell systems and 275 fueling stations across the United States.

    Plug Power’s revenue rose 40% in 2022 and 27% in 2023, but much of that growth was driven by acquisitions of two smaller cryogenic storage companies rather than by organic growth in its core hydrogen fuel cell, charger, and electrolyzer businesses.

    In 2024, its revenue declined 29% as the macro headwinds drove many companies to rein in their hydrogen projects. Its operating margin also plummeted from negative 97% in 2022 to negative 321% in 2024, which suggested its capital-intensive business was unsustainable.

    Despite those challenges, analysts expect Plug Power’s revenue to rise 12% in 2025, then grow at a CAGR of 23% over the following two years as the macro environment stabilizes and the green hydrogen market expands. They also expect it to gradually narrow its net losses.

    But with a market cap of $2.9 billion, Plug Power still isn’t a screaming bargain at three times this year’s sales. More importantly, it could lose access to its $1.7 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, which it secured in the final days of the Biden Administration, after the Trump Administration paused those commitments. It’s already suspended the construction of up to six green hydrogen plants associated with that loan.

    On the bright side, it’s still ramping up green hydrogen production in Texas and Georgia, launched a joint venture with Olin (NYSE: OLN) to build a new hydrogen liquefaction plant in Louisiana, it secured new green hydrogen projects in the U.K., and it’s streamlining its spending through its “Project Quantum Leap” initiative. Plug Power isn’t down for the count yet, but I don’t expect its stock to bounce back unless the Trump Administration changes its tune on the green hydrogen industry.

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    Plug Power Stock: Dead, or a Future Clean-Energy Beast in the Making? was originally published by The Motley Fool

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  • Letters: Alameda County should stop coddling criminals

    Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

    Alameda County should
    stop coddling criminals

    Re: “Accused killer appears in court” (Page A1, Nov. 19).

    In your report on the horrific killing of coach John Beam, Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods argued that “Instead of more jail and prison, we should invest in more effective solutions, such as diversion, mentorship and violence interruption.”

    Letters To The Editor

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  • Large wind turbine blade detaches in Massachusetts, falls in cranberry bog

    A large wind turbine blade detached and fell into a cranberry bog in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon. Plymouth Fire Chief Neil Foley says they received a call from a concerned neighbor around 1:52 p.m. who noticed one of the three blades on the 300-foot-tall wind turbine was missing.Firefighters located the detached blade several hundred feet away from the base, resting in an open cranberry bog. Sister station WCVB’s Sky5 was over the scene of the broken blade, which is between 75 to 100 feet long. We did not see any additional detached blades in the area.There were no injuries, and there is no threat to the public.The maintenance company responsible for the wind turbine responded to the scene and said the turbine automatically entered a fail-safe mode, shutting down immediately after the blade detached.They’re still conducting inspections to determine the cause of the failure, according to fire officials.“We were fortunate that this turbine is located out in the middle of the cranberry bogs and not in a residential area,” said Chief Foley. “Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the turbine automatically shut itself down as designed. As we continue to investigate, MassDEP and Inspectional Services will now do their due diligence to ensure this incident is addressed appropriately and the impacted area is cleaned up safely.”The maintenance company has cordoned off the area and is arranging for contractors to clean up the scene.

    PLYMOUTH, Mass. —

    A large wind turbine blade detached and fell into a cranberry bog in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon.

    Plymouth Fire Chief Neil Foley says they received a call from a concerned neighbor around 1:52 p.m. who noticed one of the three blades on the 300-foot-tall wind turbine was missing.

    Firefighters located the detached blade several hundred feet away from the base, resting in an open cranberry bog.

    Sister station WCVB’s Sky5 was over the scene of the broken blade, which is between 75 to 100 feet long. We did not see any additional detached blades in the area.

    There were no injuries, and there is no threat to the public.

    The maintenance company responsible for the wind turbine responded to the scene and said the turbine automatically entered a fail-safe mode, shutting down immediately after the blade detached.

    They’re still conducting inspections to determine the cause of the failure, according to fire officials.

    “We were fortunate that this turbine is located out in the middle of the cranberry bogs and not in a residential area,” said Chief Foley. “Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the turbine automatically shut itself down as designed. As we continue to investigate, MassDEP and Inspectional Services will now do their due diligence to ensure this incident is addressed appropriately and the impacted area is cleaned up safely.”

    The maintenance company has cordoned off the area and is arranging for contractors to clean up the scene.

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  • President Donald Trump cancels $583 million in energy projects for Illinois, one of many blue states affected

    Amid a funding stalemate in Congress and a federal government shutdown, President Donald Trump’s planned termination of nearly $8 billion for energy projects primarily in states that didn’t vote for him includes $583 million in cuts for projects in Illinois.

    Among those set to lose tens of millions of dollars in anticipated funding are power giant Exelon, the University of Illinois, the nonprofit Gas Technology Institute, which is based in Des Plaines, and a handful of other entities in Illinois, according to congressional Democrats who released the full list when Trump’s Energy Department and Office of Management and Budget did not.

    The director of the OMB, Russell Vought, made the announcement shortly after Congress forced the federal government into a shutdown. On social media, he called the funds that were targeted to be cut “Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda,” suggesting the choices in funding cuts were highly political.

    U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement that the cuts aim to eliminate 33 awards in Illinois, totaling more than $673 million, but that $90 million of that amount had already been spent. That translates to a loss of approximately $583 million.

    The money was slated for transportation electrification, solar energy, “green” buildings and a range of other energy initiatives, according to a document released by Duckworth’s office.

    In her statement, Duckworth said she thought “there is no legal justification whatsoever” for the funding cuts.

    “Unsurprisingly for anyone familiar with how Trump operates, the more than 300 projects cancelled are overwhelmingly in states that did not vote for him in the 2024 election,” Duckworth said. “This abrupt cancellation not only jeopardizes local and regional economic growth but also sends a concerning message to researchers, entrepreneurs, unions and communities nationwide who rely on the federal government to act in good faith and in the national interest.”

    The U.S. Department of Energy said on X that it chopped the hundreds of obligated awards nationwide “following a thorough, individualized financial review.”

    These “projects did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars,” the department said.

    Recipients can appeal the decision, the department said. Energy Department officials did not respond to a request for additional details.

    Since Trump entered office in January, his administration has targeted spending on environmentally friendly projects and called such efforts a “scam.” He called climate change a “con job” during a recent speech at the United Nations. At several points he has also clawed back money, attempted mass firings and ended programs in a push to cut costs, breaking norms and angering Democrats and organizations that rely on consistent federal funding.

    Before Congress failed to approve a funding plan to keep the federal government operating, Trump threatened that he’d use the shutdown to punish political enemies, which would include Illinois, a state that has resoundingly rejected his three bids for the presidency.

    The hardest hit in Illinois this week appeared to be the nonprofit GTI, which was set to have more than $400 million in awards terminated, according to the list from Duckworth. Those awards were intended for carbon capture technology projects and the study of methane emissions, among other initiatives, the document said.

    The awards also included more than $30 million for carbon capture and other projects at the University of Illinois, as well as $100 million for Exelon and $50 million for its subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, for electric grid modernization in Illinois, according to Duckworth’s list.

    Some other recipients of smaller terminated awards in Illinois included Cook County, the American Lung Association and Northwestern University. One project for hydrogen use in heavy machinery by construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar was slated to occur in Chillicothe, in Peoria County, which is part of Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood’s district, while the rest are affiliated with Democratic districts, according to a list from House Appropriations Committee Democrats.

    One top-ranking Illinois Senate member, who is active on energy-related issues at the state Capitol, said what the Trump administration is doing “is a mistake.”

    “If you’re an advocate of domestic energy production, which the administration claims to be, this would be the last thing you would be doing,” said Democratic state Sen. Bill Cunningham of Chicago. “This is cutting off domestic energy production.”

    The Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.

    Olivia Olander

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  • Trump in speech to UN says world body ‘not even coming close to living up’ to its potential

    President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations on Tuesday to boast of his second-term foreign policy achievements and lash out at the world body as a feckless institution, while warning Europe it would be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a “double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy policies.His roughly hour-long speech was both grievance-filled and self-congratulatory as he used the platform to praise himself and lament that some of his fellow world leaders’ countries were “going to hell.”The address was also just the latest reminder for U.S. allies and foes that the United States — after a four-year interim under the more internationalist President Joe Biden — has returned to the unapologetically “America First” posture under Trump.“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”World leaders listened closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.Trump escalated that criticism on Tuesday, saying the international body’s “empty words don’t solve wars.”Trump offered a weave of jarring juxtapositions in his address to the assembly.He trumpeted himself as a peacemaker and enumerated successes of his administration’s efforts in several hotspots around the globe. At the same, Trump heralded his decisions to order the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iran and more recently against alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and argued that globalists are on the verge of destroying successful nations.The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.Warnings about ‘green scam’ and migrationTrump touted his administration’s policies allowing for expanded drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, and aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration, implicitly suggesting more countries should follow suit.He sharply warned that European nations that have more welcoming migration policies and commit to expensive energy projects aimed at reducing their carbon footprint were causing irreparable harm to their economies and cultures.“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail,” Trump said. “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with your country is going to fail.”Trump added, “I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer.”The passage of the wide-ranging address elicited some groans and uncomfortable laughter from delegates.Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leadersTrump touted “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars. He peppered his speech with criticism of global institutions doing too little to end war and solve the world’s biggest problems.General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday said that despite all the internal and external challenges facing the organization, it is not the time to walk away.“Sometimes we could’ve done more, but we cannot let this dishearten us. If we stop doing the right things, evil will prevail,” Baerbock said in her opening remarks.Following his speech, Trump met with Secretary-General António Guterres, telling the top U.N. official that the U.S. is behind the global body “100%” amid fears among members that he’s edging toward a full retreat.The White House says Trump will also meet on Tuesday with the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speechTrump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.Trump sharply criticized the statehood recognition push.“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7.”Trump also addressed Russia’s war in Ukraine.It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.Trump said a “very strong round of powerful tariffs” would “stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.” He repeated his calls on Europe to “step it up” and stop buying Russian oil.Trump has Oslo dreamsDespite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the spurious claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars,” Trump offered.He again highlighted his administration’s efforts to end conflicts, including between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.“It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” Trump said. “Sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them.”Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.___AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

    UNITED NATIONS —

    President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations on Tuesday to boast of his second-term foreign policy achievements and lash out at the world body as a feckless institution, while warning Europe it would be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a “double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy policies.

    His roughly hour-long speech was both grievance-filled and self-congratulatory as he used the platform to praise himself and lament that some of his fellow world leaders’ countries were “going to hell.”

    The address was also just the latest reminder for U.S. allies and foes that the United States — after a four-year interim under the more internationalist President Joe Biden — has returned to the unapologetically “America First” posture under Trump.

    “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”

    World leaders listened closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.

    After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.

    Trump escalated that criticism on Tuesday, saying the international body’s “empty words don’t solve wars.”

    Trump offered a weave of jarring juxtapositions in his address to the assembly.

    He trumpeted himself as a peacemaker and enumerated successes of his administration’s efforts in several hotspots around the globe. At the same, Trump heralded his decisions to order the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iran and more recently against alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and argued that globalists are on the verge of destroying successful nations.

    The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.

    Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.

    The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

    Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.

    Warnings about ‘green scam’ and migration

    Trump touted his administration’s policies allowing for expanded drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, and aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration, implicitly suggesting more countries should follow suit.

    He sharply warned that European nations that have more welcoming migration policies and commit to expensive energy projects aimed at reducing their carbon footprint were causing irreparable harm to their economies and cultures.

    “I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail,” Trump said. “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with your country is going to fail.”

    Trump added, “I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer.”

    The passage of the wide-ranging address elicited some groans and uncomfortable laughter from delegates.

    Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leaders

    Trump touted “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars. He peppered his speech with criticism of global institutions doing too little to end war and solve the world’s biggest problems.

    General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday said that despite all the internal and external challenges facing the organization, it is not the time to walk away.

    “Sometimes we could’ve done more, but we cannot let this dishearten us. If we stop doing the right things, evil will prevail,” Baerbock said in her opening remarks.

    Following his speech, Trump met with Secretary-General António Guterres, telling the top U.N. official that the U.S. is behind the global body “100%” amid fears among members that he’s edging toward a full retreat.

    The White House says Trump will also meet on Tuesday with the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

    He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.

    Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speech

    Trump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.

    France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.

    Trump sharply criticized the statehood recognition push.

    “The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7.”

    Trump also addressed Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.

    European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.

    Trump said a “very strong round of powerful tariffs” would “stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.” He repeated his calls on Europe to “step it up” and stop buying Russian oil.

    Trump has Oslo dreams

    Despite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the spurious claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.

    “Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars,” Trump offered.

    He again highlighted his administration’s efforts to end conflicts, including between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.

    “It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” Trump said. “Sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them.”

    Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.

    ___

    AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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  • Use solar power, kill a tortoise? Climate change solution carries environmental costs

    Use solar power, kill a tortoise? Climate change solution carries environmental costs

    Dustin Mulvaney, SJSU environmental studies professor, stands at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thurssday, May 2, 2024. Mulvaney believes California has far more than enough alternative space, including parking lots, contaminated land and other areas, that there’s no need for massive solar arrays in pristine areas such as the Mojave Desert. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) 

    Turn on your toaster, bulldoze a Joshua tree. Flip a light switch, feed an endangered tortoise to a badger.

    Solar power, widely seen as humanity’s best hope for avoiding catastrophic climate change, can carry a heavy environmental cost, depending on where panels and transmission lines are built.

    Some of that infrastructure — providing electricity to millions of Californians — is going into places it should not, says San Jose State University environmental studies professor and sustainable energy expert, Dustin Mulvaney. Killing plants and animals, of course, is not a goal for solar developers, but the collateral damage has sparked bitter debate over where panels and lines belong.

    California has done a good job of protecting its public lands while facilitating solar development, Mulvaney says. But many residents are powering their homes with electricity from Nevada, where pristine natural areas are taking an increasingly hard hit, and from private, California projects in important animal and plant habitats, he says.

    Several “aggregators” — community-based alternatives to utility giants that are often marketed as “clean” — have contracts for power from a Southern California project that would see 4,000 Joshua trees leveled, he says. Other projects feeding aggregators bring significant loss of wildlife habitat.

    Mulvaney believes sacrificing nature for solar is unnecessary. California could meet its electricity needs by putting solar panels on just a tenth of its contaminated sites, old mines, unusable former farmlands, parking lots and other disturbed areas, he says. “We need to be building out our electricity transmission infrastructure toward those sites,” Mulvaney says. The more solar close to major urban areas, the better, he adds. Every home and Amazon warehouse presents another rooftop-solar opportunity, he says.

    This news organization sat down with Mulvaney recently to discuss solar power. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    Q: Describe the controversy over where to put solar generation facilities?
    A: Most big solar farms are not controversial. They get controversial when they go onto landscapes that are of significance, either ecological significance or cultural significance — sometimes there are important cultural resources for tribes.

    Q: Do we have need for both rooftop solar and utility-scale solar?
    A: We should have more rooftop, but we’re going to need more utility scale based on the way our grid is built.

    Q: Why do we have solar developments and proposals for pristine areas, when already-altered land is available?
    A: Transmission lines are why we see projects where they are. Back in the ’60s we built transmission lines to connect to coal-fired power plants in the western United States. As those coal-fired power plants are turning off, those transmission lines suddenly have power availability. The (planned new) Greenlink transmission line which is going to connect Las Vegas and Reno goes through a Native American site and through a bunch of sensitive ecosystems. And we’re already seeing applications for solar farms along that transmission corridor. That’s going to be power that goes to California, probably. Nevada has fewer protections for its public lands.

    Q: What roles do the big utilities like PG&E and Southern California Edison play in where solar farms go up?
    A: The community choice aggregators are playing a bigger role than the utilities in determining these development patterns now. The community choice aggregators are doing much of the (power) purchasing. For the Yellow Pine solar farm on the Nevada border (to produce electricity for Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Central Coast Community Energy), lots of desert tortoises had to be removed from that site. Forty-something of those tortoises were eaten by badgers right away.

    Q: Could we meet our electricity needs without big solar farms?
    A: There’s nothing theoretically prohibiting rooftop solar and batteries from powering a community. Do you have enough sun? We get those back to back to back to back cyclones in the winter. Sometimes the cloud cover’s all the way across the Central Valley. Do you have enough batteries? The battery storage probably makes that prohibitively expensive at this stage. It would require rethinking how we move power around.

    Q: What do we stand to lose by putting big solar farms in the wilderness?
    A: All sorts of species, old-growth barrel cactus, desert tortoise, kit fox. The desert tortoise just last week was up-listed by the California Department of Fish and Game to be endangered. That species has lost 90% of its population since 1980. Bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope are impacted by solar farms because their habitat gets fragmented by them. Their populations get more isolated, they have inbreeding.

    Q: Could we meet all our needs without putting solar on undisturbed wilderness?
    A: There’s a great study. You can avoid important lands to conservation and it would only increase the cost of power by 3%, based on their estimates.

    Q: Where are some places where you could put reasonable amounts of solar generation to help avoid bringing power in from the desert or Nevada?
    A: On the western side of the Central Valley a lot of those soils are contaminated with selenium. That would be an area where you could have less impact. That’s where you could put pretty big utility scale projects that would be really close to the Bay Area, and above the bottleneck — California has a (power line capacity) bottleneck for the power, around Los Banos. We have to build more renewables above the bottleneck in northern California to help the Bay Area.

    Q: What about Southern California?
    A: You have a lot of renewables in Southern California already. Southern California just needs more rooftop solar on their warehouses and things like that.

    Ethan Baron

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  • 8 Trends to Watch Out for In Grid Energy | Entrepreneur

    8 Trends to Watch Out for In Grid Energy | Entrepreneur


    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    For many, the future of energy seems so close yet too far away. That image is coming into view but is still blurry and distant for many. As a clean grid energy expert, the future is now. These technologies exist, and they’re getting better every day. They will define what the energy grid and the homes and businesses of the next 50 to 100 years it supports will look like.

    For over 20 years, I’ve been working and leading in the energy-saving and home improvement industry. I’ve been learning and using my years of experience to educate people about green living for years. More recently, I’ve been working on the prototype for the home of the future in Denver, CO. Here are some of the energy trends and innovations I see as promising for energy-efficient homes of today and tomorrow.

    1. Grid analytics

    Grids can now collect obscene amounts of data on how energy is used. It can track connected asset performance and identify equipment issues. It can identify trends associated with the time of year and weather patterns through predictive analytics to manage energy production, storage and distribution effectively.

    Related: 5 Renewable Energy Sources To Look Out For in 2024 and Beyond

    2. Grid AI

    Artificial intelligence can use machine learning to adapt automatically to trends. Imagine a grid that ramps energy production up and down ideally to reduce wasted resources, driving energy efficiency up and, over time, the cost to manage energy down.

    In the shorter term, grid AI switches between renewable and non-renewable energy sources. In the future, it can shift among renewable to reach the most eco-friendly and cost-effective mix based on environmental or other factors.

    3. Remote microgrids

    Microgrids deliver hyper-local energy to rural locations. Rather than depending on a more extensive energy grid infrastructure with so many ways to fail between the grid and place, a microgrid produces and stores the energy where it’s needed, using whichever renewables are most available.

    4. Suburban and urban microgrids

    Today, many microgrids are treated as backup systems for essential services like hospitals, critical data centers, or disaster relief command posts. But as the technology advances, we’ll see many more communities using microgrids for everyday applications and even in more urban areas.

    This would mean localizing power to “keep the lights on” while staying connected to (but able to disconnect from) a larger grid. With the concern over the potential for strategic attacks on energy grids, decentralizing the grids is a promising solution.

    Related: 6 Tips to Invest in Renewable Energy Now

    5. EV-supportive grid management

    Fossil fuel usage continues to be one of the biggest environmental threats. Electric vehicles can reduce our dependence. But problems exist. Charging thousands of EVs taxes older energy grids and makes owning an EV cost-prohibitive for the average family.

    Green energy grids can and are working with EV owners to solve these problems. Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology allows EVs to return power to the grid when needed without inconveniencing the car owner. Furthermore, it starts charging the vehicle when demand drops, helping the grid balance more efficiently and preventing blackouts. Whether energy companies reduce rates during non-peak hours or provide specific discount incentives for EV owners using this technology, this system can significantly reduce EV ownership costs.

    6. Grid cybersecurity

    As mentioned, centralized grids are increasingly at risk. While physical attacks are possible, cyber-attacks are much more likely. So, it’s no surprise that grids get a makeover with tools like data encryptions, anomaly monitoring, and faster threat detection and response.

    Related: Here’s Why Solar Entrepreneurs Don’t Go Off the Grid

    7. Longer and more energy storage

    We’ve taken leaps and bounds in the energy storage sector. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has said storage capacity will double in 2024 and continue to increase, making the storage of renewable energy a more viable option in the longer term, further reducing dependence on non-renewable backups or supplementation. At the same time, the storage cost is declining as capacity increases and battery degradation decreases.

    8. The solar grid side hustle

    As Kartik Menon pointed out in their recent article, improvements in grid analytics and connectivity have the potential to open up a new solar side hustle and regional energy collaboration. As sun-soaked homes generate more power than they can use or store during peak production, they need a marketplace to offload the excess and potentially pay for energy when production is low. This system could turn whole blocks into microgrids of neighbors sharing resources.

    Grid energy is essential to daily life. But the grids of tomorrow are going to look very different. More efficiency, decentralization, greater security, and AI-powered optimizations will help grids power through and deliver to their customers. We’ve already seen these technologies take shape today, but they still have a way to go. While there is undoubtedly more to be discovered and missing links to be revealed, we’re on our way to the green-energy-powered world we want to see.



    Abe Issa

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  • Farmer claims he was offered lap dance if he agreed to wind turbine on his land

    Farmer claims he was offered lap dance if he agreed to wind turbine on his land

    A farmer was offered cash and a trip to a lap dancing club if he agreed to having a giant wind turbine on his land, according to council documents.

    Officials from a green energy company are trying to persuade landowners in Wales to sign up for wind generators and pylons by offering them financial incentives. But a community council heard one local was offered a night out at a lap dancing club along with a large financial incentive.

    Campaigners say it is the latest “dirty trick” by Bute Energy, a Scottish company behind numerous green power schemes in the Welsh countryside.

    The energy firm described the apparent offer as an “unsubstantiated and absurd allegation”.

    Villagers were shocked by the claim made at a meeting of the Nelson community council near Caerphilly, South Wales, in August last year, where minutes were taken.

    The company, which denies the lap dancing allegation, is behind schemes to install wind farms across some of the most beautiful landscapes across Wales.

    One local, who did not want to be named, said: “I can just imagine them [Bute Energy] trying to turn the head of a lonely farmer by offering him a night out at a strip joint in Cardiff.”

    ‘We don’t know what deals they’ve done’

    Some landowners have signed up for turbines on their land which could earn them up to £100,000 a year.

    But the deals have angered their neighbours, including many who have invested in campsites, rental cottages and B&Bs. They have turned down offers of £5,000 compensation and accuse Bute Energy of dodgy dealing “over the kitchen table” and say the 200ft-high generators will destroy the countryside.

    The alleged lap dancing offer was made in the village of Llanfabon, near Caerphilly, which already has a National Grid electricity sub station.

    Racehorse trainer Graham Richards, 72, who has lived in Llanfabon for 40 years, said: “I wouldn’t put it past them, it’s the sort of dirty trick they play. I’ve even heard talk of prostitutes being brought here.”

    Mr Richards told Mail Online he has been diagnosed with cancer and claims others living close to an electricity sub station at Llanfabon are also being treated for the illness.

    Racehorse trainer Graham Richard, 72, lives near an electricity substation in Llanfabon, Wales

    Racehorse trainer Graham Richard, 72, lives near an electricity substation in Llanfabon, Wales – ANDREW LLOYD

    He confronted Labour’s Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Minister for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, while she was meeting campaigners against plans to install wind turbines across 60 miles of countryside.

    Mr Richards said: “She promised to come back to me, I’ve heard nothing and she has done nothing. This community will be finished if this power company is allowed to do what it likes.”

    Jesse Hutchings, 37, a campaigner, said it was “deeply concerning” if Bute Energy was offering lap dancing sessions to entice farmers.

    “We have found Bute Energy to be very two-faced in all or dealings with them,” she said. “They claim to be honest and saving the planet … but we don’t know what deals they’ve done over people’s kitchen tables.”

    Bute Energy vehemently denied that any landowner had been offered a trip to a lap dancing club as an inducement.

    A spokesman said: “This is an unsubstantiated and absurd allegation. None of our team behave in this way. We are solely focussed and dedicated to the work we are doing to deliver much needed clean, green energy for Wales.”

    Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

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  • Americans pinched as electricity costs hit all-time highs

    Americans pinched as electricity costs hit all-time highs

    Electricity rates in the U.S. soared to all-time highs in September, with Americans facing the sting of higher energy bills.

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a spike to $0.171 per kilowatt-hour in September, presenting a harsh reality against the backdrop of a seemingly robust economy. While costs moderated to $0.169 per kilowatt-hour in October, industry experts point to a web of causes including geopolitical tensions, global pandemics, and green energy transitions which indicate that the days of stable, low-cost electricity might be fading and a new reality may be emerging.

    As households gear up for winter, there’s cautious optimism for a slight respite in electricity costs. A recent downtick in natural gas prices—a key determinant of electricity rates—hints at a potential but modest decrease in upcoming electric bills.

    Newsweek’s previous analysis of Energy Information Administration (EIA) data indicates that while a 2 percent reduction in residential electricity rates is projected, stemming from a 14 percent year-over-year drop in wholesale natural gas prices, consumers should still brace for relatively high energy expenses.

    That’s because the complexity of the energy market means that lower fuel costs don’t always equate to lower electricity rates for consumers, according to experts. Deloitte’s 2024 power and utility industry outlook analysis paints a picture of an industry grappling with the costs of modernizing the grid and transitioning to green energy, pointing to a 1.9 percent overall increase in retail electricity prices by the end of the year.

    The Federal Reserve’s warning of a ‘higher for longer’ interest rate environment aimed at curbing inflation resonates within the energy sector. Capital expenditures have surged to a record-breaking nearly $171 billion in 2023 for the most significant electric and gas utilities, according to Deloitte, indicating a trend that may not reverse soon.

    As interest rates climb, the cost of borrowing increases, which can ripple through the economy, affecting utilities and, by extension, electricity rates.

    These higher borrowing costs come at a time when utilities are investing heavily to modernize and transition towards more sustainable energy sources, meaning a return to prices that electricity enjoyed over the 2010s may not happen anytime soon because “much of the increase over time is due to inflation and has often lagged inflation,” Jim Thomson, U.S. Power, Utilities & Renewables leader at Deloitte Consulting, explained to Newsweek.

    That lag indicates that while consumers may be feeling the immediate sting of higher prices, the energy sector and the utility companies that monetize it might be contending with the rising costs for a longer period. Thomson said that in the short term, “utilities will likely continue to face high costs as they modernize and decarbonize the electric grid.”

    Why Did Costs Increase in the First Place?

    The decade-long stability of electricity prices that consumers enjoyed for years was upended in 2022 when a confluence of factors caused the price spike. A surge in natural gas prices, fueled by lower production and amplified by geopolitical tensions stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, played a key role, Thomson told Newsweek. Additionally, Thomson said the energy sector was not insulated from the pandemic’s inflationary effects and supply chain disruptions, which drove up costs.

    Will I Have High Electric Bills Forever?

    There is light at the end of the tunnel. “Some of these factors are subsiding,” Thomson explained, “and since regulated utilities are required to pass cost decreases through to customers as well as cost increases, some customers could see lower bills in the coming year.”

    The U.S. Power Utilities & Renewables leader told Newsweek that as the industry increasingly turns to renewable sources like wind and solar, which are not fuel-reliant, the potential for moderating costs emerges. “Over time, as the share of electricity generated by renewables such as wind and solar continues to grow, it could tend to moderate costs since those energy sources do not use fuel, and those savings would be passed on to customers,” he noted.

    He remains optimistic about the long-term impact of renewable energy, adding, “As the energy transition progresses, households that electrify their energy use by replacing fossil-fueled cars, heating systems, and other appliances with EVs, heat pumps and electric appliances could potentially see as much as a 40 percent decrease in household energy bills by 2045.”

    A young lady sits at her kitchen table at home checking over the household bills. Experts say that high energy costs may be the new norm as the industry grapples with the costs of modernizing the grid.
    In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images