Working on behalf of an unknown data company, an electric utility plans to build a natural gas plant in rural Louisiana

The gas-fired power plant would increase greenhouse
gas emissions. (LED photo via Floodlight)

Electric utility Entergy wants to build a $3.2 billion natural gas plant in rural northeast Louisiana to provide energy for an unnamed company's data center. Some people are "calling the development a 'godsend' for the region, where one in five people live in poverty," reports Pam Radtke of Floodlight. However, environmental and economic concerns have left some officials and residents questioning the viability of a project that creates more fossil fuel emissions and could result in electricity rate hikes.

Whit Cox, regulatory director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, told Radtke, "Entergy is proposing to add huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions." Radtke adds, "And a Louisiana utility consumer group questions whether the cost of the new plants will be passed onto residential customers."

If Entergy's construction is green-lighted by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, "Louisiana would join a cohort of states building natural gas power plants to meet the pressing demand for electricity to run data centers being built by Amazon, Meta, Google and others," Radtke reports. "Data centers are forecast to account for up to 12% of all U.S. electricity demand by 2030."

Like other plants intended to feed energy-guzzling AI owned by data behemoths, Entergy's project targets land in small-town rural America where good-paying jobs can be hard to come by and land is cheap. "In its filings, Entergy says the data center will employ 300 to 500 people with an average salary of $82,000," Radtke adds. "The utility calls the development a 'game changer' that will bring a 'historic investment' to the region."

Even if environmental concerns are put to rest, Louisiana residents are worried the plant could drive up their utility bills. "Costs not paid by the data center, either through electricity rates or separate agreements, would be spread across Entergy’s 1.1 million Louisiana customers, although the utility says the proposed deal 'largely insulates [Entergy’s] other customers from paying for the upgrades required' for the data center," Radtke reports. "The PSC will take up the project for the first time [this month] as it considers hiring outside consultants to help evaluate the proposal."

Rural Minnesota town will be 'guinea pig' for long-duration solar batteries. It's a big change for this community.

Upon completion, Sherco will be the biggest solar farm
in the Upper Midwest. (Photo by APPA, Unsplash)

Becker, Minnesota, is covered with viny potato fields and endless rows of corn that go as far as the eye can see. But in this small community of 5,000 residents, solar panels by the thousands are about to be added, replacing three of the town's coal mines in a test of long-duration batteries, reports Ivan Penn of The New York Times. "Becker is also one of two sites where Xcel Energy is installing demonstration battery systems from Form Energy, a Massachusetts company. The systems — using readily available materials like water, air and iron — can store solar and wind-generated energy as a backup, with a capacity to power 2,000 homes for up to five days."

The Sherburne County Generating Station, known as Sherco, is a massive example of what Minnesotans are doing to meet the state's goal of "100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040," Penn writes. "And it tests how the energy transition could unfold on a nationwide scale for jobs at decades-old fossil fuel facilities, local tax revenues and agricultural businesses. . . . Sherco will stand as the largest solar farm in the Upper Midwest — replacing three coal units in Becker with three solar sites on the town’s outskirts along the Mississippi River."

Becker is in Sherburne County, Minn.
(Wikipedia map)

The closing of the coal plants has been met with distrust and some past-employee grumblings. "Among skeptics of the energy transition, suspicion about solar runs as deep as the town’s cornfields are long. . . . Xcel [has] promises no layoffs," Penn reports. "'We are the guinea pig for the whole group,' said Tracy Bertram, the mayor of Becker, acknowledging the anxiety some have felt about the loss of an economic anchor. 'People don’t like change. It’s the unknown.'"

Despite the positives that Xcel's development offers, some Becker residents are sad to see coal go. Rob Miller, a journeyman who has worked at the Sherco [coal] plant for 20 years, told Penn, “There’s a lot of pride, blood, sweat that has gone in here. It’s sad to see it coming to an end.”

Large rural cooperative is adding solar projects in Colorado in an effort to expand 'cleaner power' options

Tri-State service territory in blue (Tri-State photo)

Once a stalwart provider of coal-powered energy, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association will purchase Axial Basin Solar, a 145-megawatt project in Moffat County, Colorado, and Dolores Canyon Solar, a 110-​megawatt project in Dolores County, Colorado, reports Julian Spector of Canary Media. The acquisitions are part of the company's new commitment to providing cleaner energy to its "massive western service territory."

Tri-State is one of the largest rural cooperative utilities in the United States, and it provides power to customers in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nebraska. "The customer base spans 200,000 square miles, more land than the entirety of California," Spector writes. "Just a few years ago, two member cooperatives quit Tri-State to seek cheaper, cleaner power elsewhere. Since then, Tri-State has rolled out a series of clean energy commitments."

Benefit changes within the Inflation Reduction Act have made switching to renewable energy more financially doable for cooperatives. Spector explains, "Chief among them is a ​'direct pay' option that lets nonprofits access the same generous clean energy tax credits as their for-profit peers — even with little to no tax burden. Once Tri-State’s leadership saw clarity on the tax rules, they decided this was the time to strike."

Tri-State is working to provide a balance of energy that will be dependable, affordable and as clean as safely possible. "Now the utility sees ample savings and benefits for its customers in maximizing low-cost renewable generation while ensuring it has enough ​'firm' power — today provided by coal and fossil gas plants — to keep the lights on," Spector reports. "The utility recently hit a new record for instantaneous renewable production on May 24, when wind and solar delivered 87% of its generation for half an hour."

Latest round of federal grants focuses on communities with less than 10k population; helps with energy bills, projects

Workers in Washington preparing to place underground
electrical lines. (Washington State DOT photo, CC)

The federal government's newest round of grants will invest in communities with less than 10,000 people, with projects aimed at lowering residential energy bills and helping smaller communities transition to renewable energy. "The money will help fund 19 projects in Alaska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Maine and elsewhere," reports Will Wright of The Daily Yonder. "The amount of money being pumped into renewable energy sources over the last few years — particularly in rural communities — is 'game changing,' said Scott Vlaun, executive director of the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy, one of the grant recipients."

The energy installations will reach some areas that have never had electrical power before. Wright explains, "In Washington's Ferry and Okanogan counties, part of a $5 million grant is dedicated to extending underground electrical lines to about 135-190 homes that will gain access to electrical service for the first time." The Northeastern Washington counties are some of the state's poorest.

Money for rural solar will help residents and educational facilities save money. "Maine will receive about $3 million to install small solar projects that will help local families get cheaper electricity and, in some cases, allow families to move away from other, more harmful heating sources like kerosene," Wright reports. "At Mississippi's East Central Community College, a $2.8 million grant will help pay for solar installations that can provide clean power to 38 campus facilities."

This latest round of grants represents a shift in the way the applications were designed to help rural communities — especially those with a lower capacity to apply for grants — get through the grant-request process. "But in communities like those in western Maine serviced by the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy, Vlaun said this round of grants could have a big impact on the everyday lives of many rural residents," Wright adds. "Whether the current enthusiasm to spend federal dollars on renewable energy will continue may depend on the outcome of the November election, he said, and the effectiveness of propaganda aimed at reducing confidence in renewable energy."

Quick hits: Documentary on Uvalde Leader-News shooting coverage to air; adding solar can benefit farms; wildfire prep

Front page of Uvalde Leader-News special
memorial section for Robb Elementary shooting.

A new documentary, Print It Black, that premieres on ABC News Live and Hulu at 8 p.m., E.T. on Friday, May 24, will examine how Uvalde Leader-News journalists covered the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in 2022, reports Kory Grow of Rolling Stone magazine. "A trailer for the film shows the stress and devastation the staff felt in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, beginning with reporter Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her daughter, Alexandria, in the massacre." The trailer also presents the "public cries for justice that followed the massacre, which was made worse by a delay on the part of local authorities to act after the shooting began."

Some farmers are welcoming solar energy as a way to save on their electrical bills and maximize land use. "Jerry Howle was skeptical about installing a $300,000 solar panel system on his South Carolina chicken farm. Then he found out he could get it free of charge," report Amrith Ramkumar and Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "Solar panels now sit on his two chicken houses, powering giant fans that keep as many as 60,000 birds inside cool. The panels are being paid for entirely by subsidies from the new climate law and will virtually eliminate the farm's $10,000 annual utility bill."

Wildfire season can be unpredictable, but planning and reliable tools can make managing it easier. Wirecutter has gathered a "best of wildfire preparedness" to help those who live in wildfire-prone areas be as ready as possible. "This guide to wildfire preparedness builds on the expertise of its original author, Eve O'Neill, who was forced to evacuate her California home in 2017 during the Tubbs Fire, which killed 22 people," reports Ellen Airhart of Wirecutter. "This list was also informed by interviews and research conducted for our larger guides to the best emergency-preparedness supplies and the best gear for your bug-out bag."

Solar storms knocked some farmers offline during peak
planting time. (Photo by Chris Ensminger, Unsplash)

While active solar storms knocked some farmers offline during the thick of planting season, the problem was not as dramatic as some reported. "Many farmers were forced to press pause and wait until GPS satellites came back online. . . . It seems, however, that like most things discussed online [on] social media channels perhaps made the situation seem a bit more dire than it turned out," reports Matthew J. Grassi of Farm Journal. Curt Covington from AgAmerica told Grassi, "There were some scattered reports of these storms delaying planting over the weekend, particularly in the Midwest, but no major disruptions have been reported by farmers at this time."

Many American families are facing some hard health care realities -- there aren't enough in-home care workers and those that do exist are often outside of their financial reach. As a result, many children are forced to care for aging or injured family members, reports Clare Ansberry of The Wall Street Journal. "There are an estimated 5.4 million children under the age of 18 providing care to parents, grandparents or siblings with chronic medical conditions or functional decline, up from about 1.3 million nearly 20 years ago, according to two reports from the National Alliance for Caregiving and others."

U.S. mining company Energy Fuels opened the mines last
year. (Photo by S. Hermann/F. Richter, Pixabay via MT)

To lessen U.S. dependence on Russian uranium and keep global energy promises, "Three uranium mines have gone into production along the Arizona-Utah border, with more on the way elsewhere in the Mountain West, as market conditions for the mineral needed for nuclear energy improve in response to a global push to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels to slow climate change," reports Wyatt Myskow of Inside Climate News. "The biggest problem the mining industry faces — especially with uranium—is opposition from local communities, tribes and environmentalists. The three mines that just started operations endured years of pushback and litigation."

Union leader for mine workers says new EPA rule will put 'a nail in the coffin for coal mining'; critics vow to fight it

Cecil Roberts

A new rule by the Environmental Protection Agency could leave thousands of mine workers unemployed, say critics who have vowed to fight the change. "United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts contends newly-final federal rules on power plants represent a nail in the coffin for coal mining," reports Brad McElhinny of MetroNews, which serves West Virginia. "Under the EPA rule, coal plants that plan to stay open beyond 2039 would have to cut or capture 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2032."

Roberts told McElhinny, "At first glance, however, this rule looks to set the funeral date for thermal coal mining in America for 2032 – just seven and a half years away – along with the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are directly and indirectly associated with it." McElhinney reports, "EPA's rules come under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. EPA described the announcement as providing regulatory certainty as the power sector makes long-term investments in the transition to a clean energy economy."

As the EPA pushes for renewable energy, people like Roberts are skeptical that the investments and technology are ready for transition. "Roberts expressed doubt that technological innovations like carbon capture and storage are truly feasible or affordable as a way of continuing to use fossil fuels," McElhinny writes. Roberts said, "Since we don't have the technology, it looks to us as if 2032, if this rule stands as us, coal power plants couldn't operate after 2032."

The region will face more joblessness and poverty without new jobs provided through energy investments into new technology. Robert told McElhinny: "I'm not trying to pick a fight with anybody, but I'm not going to mislead anybody either. Part of the understanding was there would be jobs come to Appalachia — anywhere coal is currently being mined where power plants might close, coal mines might close — there would be good-paying union jobs to take their place. That has not happened."

Several West Virginia lawmakers and leaders have vowed to work against the new rule, including U.S. Sen.  Shelley Moore Capito, ranking member of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

Rural Tennessee communities want agreements to ensure that they will benefit from Ford's big electric vehicle complex

Ford and SK's mega EV complex in Tennessee is nearly six square miles.
(BlueOval City photo)

Named after Ford's iconic logo, Blue Oval City is a burgeoning electric vehicle development in Stanton, Tennessee, a rural town of 615 residents, many of whom are working to ensure the massive operation provides regional community advantages.

"The joint venture, between Ford and Korean company SK Innovation, promises 6,000 good-paying jobs for residents of the small, rural communities. . . . Development on such a large scale will, [residents] fear, change the community, suck up water and electricity, and prompt an influx of newcomers and development," reports Katie Myers of Grist. "The towns orbiting Stanton are sitting down with Ford and SK to negotiate a binding agreement that will ensure they benefit from Blue Oval City as much as the companies do."

Community advocates wanted residents to have a say in what benefits the companies provided, including youth facilities and support for road maintenance, alongside binding assurances for responsible plant waste disposal. To empower regional voices, they formed a coalition, which "drafted a list of stipulations, called a community benefits agreement, that it wants Ford/Blue Oval SK to abide by," Myers explains. "CBAs are a contract between a corporation and a coalition of local organizations that gives the community, through binding arbitration, leverage to ensure the commitments are kept."

In Los Angeles, the entertainment industry used CBAs to negotiate for a large sports arena, but a CBA's purpose and power can be broadly applied. Vonda McDaniel, the president of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, "is helping to formulate Blue Oval agreement and plan town halls," Myers reports. "The process has been lively." McDaniel told her: "We haven't had a whole lot of wilting flowers that have shown up at our meetings. . . . The community is feeling a bit squeezed; there's heavy equipment up and down the road every day."

The "squeeze" is understandable. Blue Oval City is a 3,600-acre campus covering nearly six square miles. The complex is slated to open in 2025 and will employ at least 5,700 people. The surrounding towns of Covington, Brownsville and Stanton have an estimated population of 19,015.

Kathleen Mulltigan, who leads the National Labor Leadership Initiative at Cornell University, told Myers: "What we're really trying to do is bring real democracy into the economic realm, because a lot of the work of shaping the economy happens without workers having any voice in it."

The coalition will need Ford and SK to come to the negotiation table. The group plans to "take a complete draft of the agreement in hand early in the new year," Myers reports. "Even if the effort is not immediately successful, community members say, the relationships they've built with one another will only get stronger, leaving possibilities for further organizing open down the road."

Billions more for the power grid as the U.S. tries to get up to pace and scale for energy transition and climate change

Photo by Matthew Henry, Unsplash

How much money will it take to prepare the U.S. power grid for energy transition and climate change extremes? More -- billions more.

The Department of Energy "announced $3.5 billion in grants to expand capacity for wind and solar power, harden power lines against extreme weather, integrate batteries and electric vehicles, and build out microgrids that can keep the lights on during power outages," reports Jeff St. John of Canary Media. "The announcement named 58 projects across 44 states eligible to receive federal funding. When matched by funds from state and local governments and utility and industry partners, they will represent more than $8 billion in investment."

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a press briefing, "The $3.5 billion is the first major round of funding from the DOE's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program, created by 2021's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has $10.5 billion available to expand transmission lines, improve grid resiliency and deploy ​'smart-grid' technologies," St. John writes. "That total is far more than the last major federal investment in grid infrastructure, the $3.4 billion in stimulus grants issued by the Obama administration in 2009."

Enough funding is only one part of infrastructure-building -- project developers are "facing years-long backlogs to connect to transmission grids, which themselves aren’t expanding nearly fast enough to meet the increasing demand," St. John reports. "The selected projects also prioritize communities that are ​'ignored or overlooked for far too often, including rural, Native and low-income communities,' according to Mitch Landrieu, the Biden administration’s senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator. . . . The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships funding is subject to the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which pledges to direct 40 percent of federal climate-related funds to historically disadvantaged communities."

Funded grid projects include electric cooperatives in Georgia, which will install "new transmission lines to serve a territory that covers three-quarters of the state’s land mass, as well as deploy battery systems and microgrids to bolster grid reliability," St. John adds. "And rural cooperatives will receive $99.7 million to deploy wildfire assessment and resiliency technology to a consortium of 39 co-ops scattered across the Western U.S."

"Several of these projects also include microgrids to enable communities to keep power up when the grid falters. Some are led by utilities that see a valuable role for microgrids in boosting reliability and integrating more clean energy, but others are led by state and community groups," St. John explains. "Other grants are focused on integrating distributed energy resources — rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles, microgrids and other technologies that utility customers are installing in ever-rising numbers."