A 10-year solar project in California aims to 'harvest the sun'

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan delivers economic value to growers, 
local governments and residents. (Map by Binh Nguyen, Canary Media )

Directors of the largest agricultural water agency in the U.S. are creating a plan to save California farmland from a decades-long water crisis, reports Jeff St. John for Canary Media.

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan will transform 136,000 acres of farmland that's no longer irrigable into 21 gigawatts of battery-back solar power, enough to power nine million houses, St. John explains.

The planned build will be the largest project not just in California or the U.S., but in the world, said Jeff Fortune, a third-generation farmer and the board president of the Westlands Water District.

The plans were approved in December, and the project may take 10 years or more, St. John reports. 

"The way we look at it is a new crop," a fifth-generation farmer and another director of the district, Jeremy Hughes, told St. John. "We're harvesting the sun and producing electricity."

In the next 20 years, the state will require four to five times as much new clean energy as the project will provide, according to another director, Ross Franson. 

Rural communities battle over massive solar installations on privately owned farmland

Massive solar installations have some rural communities
in an uproar. (Photo by Andres Siimon, Unsplash)

Some farmers believe leasing crop land for solar panel installations is a way to secure a steady income in a profession marked by unpredictability. But other farmers, landowners and community members see long stretches of solar panels on rich farmland as a wasteful tragedy worth fighting over.

In Richland, Michigan, more than 2,200 acres of farmland were leased to Consumers Energy by Liberty Farms without a word of input from the community, writes Chris Bennett of Farm Journal. But once neighbors were informed, an uproar ensued, and many community members are actively working to prevent the project from moving forward.

Kate Smit's farm sits adjacent to the land Liberty Farms leased to Consumers for its 461,000-solar-panel installation. She told Bennett, "We want to stall the Consumers’ solar project until we can get a bill passed in our state senate, so that townships and counties have to vote if a solar panel company wants in." 

Smit told Farm Journal that she believes that massive solar leases like the one she's fighting in Kalamazoo County are happening all over Michigan and the Midwest.

Bill Peter, who lives two miles from Smit, doesn't consider solar installations to be earth-friendly. He told Bennett, "There’s nothing green about this green energy. I’m not sitting quietly while 450,000 solar panels permanently replace the best farm soil around.”

For many residents in rural communities, resistance to industrial solar installations persists, despite their strong beliefs in private property rights. Ed Yelton, a cattle producer in Dearborn County, Indiana, said solar and AI data center projects belong in a separate category.

Consumers' proposed installation in Richland isn't a done deal yet. Bennett explains, "The Richland Township planning commission has not yet approved Consumer Energy’s application."

U.S. grid needs operators to plan now with a blend of energies including batteries, gas and coal

North American Electric Reliability Corporation graph

Fueled by increased demand and shrinking power options, the U.S. electricity grid is headed toward a reliability crisis. "Tens of millions of people face a growing risk of blackouts over the next five years, according to an annual assessment by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal regulators," reports Brad Plumer of The New York Times.

As AI data center builds have continued to demand more grid power, many "utilities are retiring older coal- and gas-burning plants and aren’t adding enough generation to dependably meet growing demand," Plumer explains. The report lists regions in Texas, the upper Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic region and the Pacific Northwest as most "at risk of electricity shortfalls."

How electricity is produced is at the heart of electricity reliability and a contentious point of national political debate. "President Trump has said that policies to fight climate change and promote wind and solar energy have weakened the reliability of electric grids, since wind turbines and solar panels can’t run at all hours," Plumer writes. But renewable energy advocates say that "Trump administration efforts to hinder wind and solar projects are depriving the grid of a fast-growing source of power."

Battery build-outs can help regional power operators create a more resilient grid that can meet demand even during extreme heat or cold snaps. "In MISO, a grid spanning 15 states in the Midwest and South, more than one-third of coal plants are set to retire by 2030," Plumer reports. "But the grid operator recently instituted a plan to speed up the connection of new gas plants and batteries over the next five years."

The report offers a list of recommendations for operators to start planning now, including "speeding up permitting processes for new power plants and transmission lines, and policies to ensure that large new sources of demand, such as data centers, don’t overwhelm the grid," Plumer adds. "It also suggests that utilities and grid operators should be careful about shutting down older coal and gas plants too quickly."

The Northern Cheynne Tribe reaches for sovereignty with its buffalo herd and a new solar array that provides energy

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe's buffalo roam on more 15,000 acres
in southeastern Montana. (Photo via The Daily Yonder)

The Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana is home to the Northern Cheyenne tribe, a growing herd of buffalo and a new solar installation that will allow the tribe to expand its buffalo restoration program while providing a better path to tribal food and energy sovereignty. 

The buffalo herd roams on a vast swath of land that covers more than 15,000 acres and "has no transmission lines crossing it, meaning there’s no way to get electricity out to the land unless the electricity is completely off the grid," reports Ilana Newman of The Daily Yonder. "Last year, the Northern Cheyenne buffalo program received a solar array that will allow it to expand the herd and processing capacity of the facility."

Although all Native American tribes are said to be sovereign nations, in practice, many tribes have been forced to rely on the U.S. federal government for some form of support. Newman explains, "But sovereignty is still the goal for every tribal nation. And asserting independence around how they manage their food, health, and energy are some main ways indigenous communities are reclaiming sovereignty."

Bringing back buffalo herds can be key for tribes like the Northern Cheyenne, who have been working on plans to improve tribal members' health while caring for tribal lands. Newman reports, "Tribes and researchers are proving that buffalo are the key to healthier ecosystems and food sovereignty for northern plains tribes."

The Northern Cheyenne's buffalo herd is around 300 head and not cheap to care for; however, the "solar array brings the buffalo program closer to self-sufficiency," Newman writes. "It currently powers a small bunkhouse. . . Starlink internet, and a freezer that holds processed bison meat. It also powers electric fences and gates to keep out intruders."

Even with the buffalo and the solar panels, the Northern Cheyenne must plan carefully. Brandon Small, who runs the buffalo restoration program, told Newman, "We wanted to do it in such a way that we could still get meat processed and donated out to the communities, but still have enough money to keep our operation going and keep growing and expanding."

Flora & Fauna: Masked bandits evolve; 2-purpose turkeys; foraging stats; whales' aging secrets; birds can help farmers

Perhaps one day, urban raccoons will be pets.
(Adobe Stock photo)

Racoons are masked, cute, and affectionately known as "trash pandas," and they are proving to have a real knack for evolving to live alongside humans, reports Axios. "The same evolutionary forces that turned wolves into domesticated dogs over thousands of years may now be reshaping urban raccoons, recent studies suggest." Marcie Logsdon, who works closely with wildlife rehabbers, told Axios, "Raccoons have adapted incredibly well to our presence. . . [They are] bold enough to raid garbage cans but polite enough" to avoid altercations with people.

An agrivoltaic 'trial flock' enjoys solar panel shade.
(Photo by Evan Carpenter, Offrange)

These turkeys have it made in the shade as they peck and strut under solar panels, unwittingly being prepared as a holiday dinner while also participating in a "dual-use agrivoltaic system," reports Jake Zajkowski for Offrange. Evan Carpenter, who is raising the "trial flock," will share bird and energy outcomes with "project collaborators United Agrivoltaics and Cornell University, to study the feasibility and business model of Carpenter’s project to scale dual-use income land."

In the Mid-Atlantic forests of the U.S., researchers Amy Wrobleski and Eric Burkhart explored regional fungi foraging and shared some of their findings with The Conversation. "We learned that harvesters use the mushrooms primarily for food and medicinal purposes. . . . Over 800 harvesters reported that, collectively, they foraged 160 species of wild mushrooms. . . . Morels and chicken of the woods were the two most popular. . . .Other popular species were hen of the woods, oysters, lion’s mane, black trumpet, honey mushroom, turkey tail, bolete, reishi, puffball, chaga, shrimp of the woods and Dryad’s saddle." Mid-Atlantic fungi can be found here. 

Bowhead whale and calf (NOAA Fisheries photo)

At full-grown, a bowhead whale can weigh 88 tons, which is roughly the weight of 15 elephants. But that's not the only outrageous bowhead fact -- the whale can live to be 268 years old. "Some whales caught in the late 1900s had old harpoon points lodged in their blubber that dated to the mid-1800s," reports Carl Zimmer of The New York Times. "A study published in the journal Nature offers a clue to how the animals manage to live so long: They are extraordinarily good at fixing damaged DNA."

K4 Ranches photo

When it comes to raising cattle, a horse is a rancher's best friend. "Using horses to check and gather cattle is typically the only option with rugged terrain," reports Maddy Rohr for Drovers. Diamond A Ranch, a division of K4 Ranch in Arizona, employs a large crew with seasonal cowboys and eight camps with full-time cowboys." Sarah Kieckhefer of K4 told Rohr, "A good horse can go where a pickup, ATV or side-by-side can’t. Horses can cover long distances and a horse allows you to move quietly, ease cattle along and reduce stress, which leads to fewer wrecks and better weight retention.”

Photo by Mike Wagner via Reasons to be Cheerful

American rice grower Mike Wagner welcomes thousands of migratory ducks, geese and shorebirds that "arrive on his farmland after harvest every autumn," writes Elizabeth Hewitt for Reasons to be Cheerful. "Over winter and early spring, the birds clean up leftovers from the growing season. Thousands of webbed feet mix up soil and water, leaving the fields ready for planting when they depart in the spring. And their droppings are so rich that Wagner has cut how much synthetic fertilizer he needs for his crop by more than a third."  

Opinion: As the Trump administration puts the brakes on clean energy support, many rural farmers will feel the loss

Solar panels can help cut energy costs for farm operations like dairies. 
(Photo by S. Patrick, Portland Herald, Getty via The Conversation CC)

Wind and solar power add grid support and help farmers maintain steady incomes when weather, bugs or market upheavals make farming less profitable. Particularly for rural communities, taxes generated by renewable energy help local budgets pay for schools, roads and health care. "But some of that opportunity is now at risk as the Trump administration cuts federal support for renewable energy," writes Paul Mwebaze in his opinion for The Conversation.

In areas with wind turbines, farmers lease their land in return for payments. "Those historically were around $3,000 to $5,000 per turbine per year, with some modern agreements $5,000 to $10,000 annually, secured through 20- to 30-year contracts," Mwebaze explains. Roughly a third of the $3.5 billion paid out on wind turbine leases goes to rural landowners.

Solar energy adds to a farmer's bottom line by providing cheaper electricity throughout an agricultural operation. "Farmers use rooftop panels on barns and ground-mounted systems to power irrigation pumps, grain dryers and cold storage facilities, cutting their power costs," Mwebaze writes. 

In some rural communities, renewable energy is the "largest new source of economic activity, helping stabilize local economies otherwise reliant on agriculture’s unpredictable income streams," Mwebaze adds. The Iowa turbine blade factory, TPI Composites, serves as an example of how clean energy stimulates rural manufacturing. TPI "just reopened its plant in Newton, Iowa. Tax benefits in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act helped boost [the industry] and the jobs and local tax revenue they bring in."

The Trump administration has "rolled back many clean energy incentives. It phased down tax credits for distributed solar projects, particularly those under 1 megawatt, which include many farm‑scale installations, and sunsets them entirely by 2028," Mwebaze explains. "It also eliminates bonus credits that previously supported rural and low‑income areas."

Renewable energy is one way the federal government could continue to invest in rural America, providing energy for communities and generating a reliable income source for farmers and smaller municipal budgets. "I believe homegrown renewable energy offers a practical path forward," Mwebaze writes. "Wind and solar aren’t just fueling the grid; they’re helping keep farms and rural towns alive."

Quick hits: Fast food's big-priced burgers; last-mile broadband; mapping the universe; the 'Siberian Express'

Once upon a time, fast food burgers were budget-
friendly. (Adobe Stock photo)

Fast food: reliable, tasty, cheap and right around the corner... or so you thought. While fast food is readily available, your bank account might not be prepared for the ever-increasing prices for the simplest of meals. "Late last year, customers labeled several popular restaurants as "overpriced," "expensive," and a "rip-off" in a national survey," said Megan Schaltegger for Delish. With the most expensive fast food basic burger ringing in at $12.89, the idea of cheap may have gone out the drive-through window.

U.S. farmers have the stinky and expensive job of managing "the hundreds of billions of pounds of waste produced by America’s dairy cows," reports Kenny Torrella of Vox. "Biodigesters," also known as "biogas," are the so-called panacea some farmers are using to turn cow poop into energy profits. However, "biodigester critics say that, at best, the process is a costly and inefficient use of America’s precious climate funding."

E-BRIDGE will help last-
mile projects. (A.S. photo)

Attract new business, support what already exists, and broaden the economic scope for communities. These are what are to come with increased broadband access in rural areas that was recently signed into law. “The E-BRIDGE Act removes hurdles for broadband projects under Economic Development Administration grants, including difficult last-mile efforts that often delay rural broadband deployment,” wrote Justin Harclerode in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s press release. Luckily the Act has been gaining support since its introduction on March 23, 2023. “In some cases, just completing that ‘last mile’ is what stands in the way of connecting people to a job they need. The E-BRIDGE Act will help spur projects that attract jobs and businesses to expand economic development and opportunity in rural and poor communities,” said Chairman Sam Graves.

Siberia is vast and frigid.
(Wikipedia photo)

A blast from "the coldest place on earth is set to blanket much of the U.S. . . temperatures could fall even lower than the previous round of cold," reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "We’re bracing for what’s called the 'Siberian Express.' What exactly is the Siberian Express? It’s when arctic air spills into the U.S., and it can have multiple sources, including Arctic Canada, Alaska, and in this case, Russia’s Siberia region, which is home to the coldest place on earth.

During his presidential term, Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House roof. He wanted the country to embrace a national energy plan based on conservation. While his vision did not come to pass -- Ronald Reagan had the panels removed in 1986 -- the life of the solar panels continued, reports Austyn Gaffney of The New York Times. "They were picked up at a bargain price by a small college in Maine, where they continued to generate power for years, and eventually ended up scattered around the United States and China. . ." 

It may look like a giant trumpet, but NASA's SPHEREx will create a colorful and dynamic
map of the universe. (NASA photo via The Conversation)

Space exploration fans around the globe will be treated to "a slate of exciting space missions in 2025," reports Zhenbo Wang for The Conversation. "NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative aims to deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon using commercial landers. . . . .NASA has several CLPS missions planned, including deliveries by companies Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace. In February 2025, NASA plans to launch SPHEREx. . . . [It] will create a comprehensive map of the universe by surveying and collecting data on more than 450 million galaxies along with over 100 million stars in the Milky Way."

Renewables helped some states breeze through this summer's punishing heat and energy demands

Renewable energy has helped some states meet
or exceed energy needs. (Adobe Stock photo)

This summer's extreme heat forced energy operators to rely on solar and wind electricity to keep the U.S. grid humming, even as Americans "cranked their air conditioning," report Katherine Blunt and Jennifer Hiller of The Wall Street Journal. "Extreme heat pushed electricity demand to new highs . . . . States such as California and Texas that in recent years have bet big on renewable energy and battery storage easily met electricity demand."

California and Texas residents in some areas had "experienced rolling blackouts in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2022, grid operators in both states called on residents to conserve electricity during extremely hot weather and almost resorted to rolling blackouts as supply margins shrank," the Journal reports. "Since then, California. . . has built one of the world’s largest fleets of batteries that store solar power during the day and discharge it in the evening. Texas, meanwhile, now rivals California in storage capacity."

Even during this summer's extreme heat, the flow of energy in California was markedly different. "As extreme heat blanketed much of the West this summer, regional power demand reached a record high of nearly 168,000 megawatts on July 10," Blunt and Hiller explain. "Yet California, which has historically imported large amounts of electricity from other states during heat waves, had surplus to send elsewhere. . . . Temperatures also surged in Texas, [where] there was plenty of solar to meet peak demand around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., and adequate wind power in the evening."

States that don't yet house the energy storage of Texas or California have tighter margins to manage. "Lanny Nickell, chief operating officer of the Southwest Power Pool, which operates part of the grid and a regional power market stretching from the Texas Panhandle to North Dakota, said his organization this summer had its smallest-ever seasonal cushion of electricity reserves," the Journal reports. "He said it is working to encourage investments in a range of new resources, as well as new means of importing power from other areas when supplies are tight."

'On the Front Porch' conversation will explore rural clean energy transitions and how communities can benefit

Tony Pipa and Sarah Mills will discuss energy transitions
in rural America. (Brookings photos)

"On the Front Porch" host Tony Pipa will discuss the ways, means and challenges of energy transitions in rural America with Sarah Mills, an energy policy and land-use expert from the University of Michigan. The event is on Sept. 18 at 4 p.m., E.T. Register here to watch online.

To take an "on the ground look" at rural energy decisions in action, Pipa and Mills will examine the benefits and pitfalls of a wind farming venture led by a small group of farmers in rural Michigan. Their conversation also will examine:

• The centrality of rural America in the country's transition to clean energy
• Trade-offs rural communities face when considering energy projects
• How community-centered approaches can help rural places maximize the community and economic development benefits

This event is a part of Election ’24: Issues at Stake, a Brookings initiative aimed to bring public attention to consequential policy issues confronting voters and policymakers in the run-up to the 2024 election.

Earlier conversations from On the Front Porch can be found here.  

In a first, the Conservative Energy Network hosts a national conference to promote 'eco-right' agenda

Participants at this year's Conservative Energy Summit.
(CEN photo via USA Today)

These "going green" supporters aren't touting climate change as their reason for supporting renewable energy. Instead, they are making a case for solar, wind and nuclear power because they believe those energy sources will help make and save Americans money, reports Elizabeth Weise of USA Today. "Conservative voices have never been absent from discussions around clean energy, but the Conservative Energy Network is part of a new 'eco-right' that's emerged."

The CEN sponsored the Conservative Energy Summit in Houston, Texas, this month, which was the first time "it brought together more than 200 people from around the country to discuss how best to champion energy sources they believe will restore American energy leadership, save people money, create jobs and secure the power grid," Weise explains. "That doesn't necessarily mean believing in climate change, speakers said. Anyone who supports free markets can see that cheap, renewable energy is the future."

Pat Wood of the Hunt Energy Network in Dallas told Weise, "We need to get the politics out of the energy business." Weise reports, "Speaker after speaker argued that free market competition, consumer choice, private property rights and cutting government overregulation are fundamentally Republican values. If those principles prevail, clean energy will thrive in the U.S., they believe."

Marshall Conrad, vice president of government relations at Strata Clean Energy in North Carolina, told Weise, "In rural, red areas, we’ve got to repudiate the feeling that Democrats are trying to force clean energy projects down our throats." Weise adds, "The Conservative Energy Network came into existence to help provide an alternative view of renewable energy at the state and county level."

Some of the CEN and its offshoots efforts include "championing the property rights of farmers and ranchers to build solar or wind on their property, fighting over-regulation and getting power projects built that bring significant revenue to rural communities without raising taxes, said Bradley Pischea, national director of the Land & Liberty Coalition," Weise explains. "They also spend a lot of time fighting misinformation about new kinds of energy."

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.”

Rural Nevada leaders seek a voice in massive energy builds, but almost 80% of their land is federally managed

Across western federal lands, some renewable energy expansion is going at such a frenetic pace that rural county officials in Nevada can't keep up with the requests, reports Jeniffer Solis of the Nevada Current. "Several rural counties are now asking state lawmakers to establish a policy requiring federal agencies to coordinate all their land use planning and management decisions with state and county governments when considering massive utility-scale energy projects. . . . As of June, there are over 130 pending applications to build renewable energy projects across Nevada’s public lands. Most of those projects are in rural counties, where as much as 80% of land is federally managed."

NV Energy photo

Currently, Nevada lacks a statewide utility-scale solar plan, which exacerbates the problem for local governments.  In fact, county officials from Eureka and Lander County told state lawmakers that managing the sheer number of clean energy projects coming to their offices isn't workable because they lack staff and management capacity. Solis writes. "Rural governments told lawmakers that the intensity and scale of utility-scale energy proposals they are seeing in their counties will require targeted state policy to support and protect rural economies."

Eureka and Lander County lands are included in the "proposed Greenlink North Transmission Project — a 235-mile transmission line along Highway 50, which is expected to attract more solar projects in the coming years," Solis explains. And while the project is expected to bring thousands of good-paying jobs to the state, county officials want their offices and residents to have a say in local installations and time to prepare for the profound changes the builds are sure to bring.

Eureka County’s natural resources manager, Jake Tibbitts, "proposed amending state policy to clarify that federal agencies are expected to enter formal agreements with local governments in Nevada when considering projects on public land in their county," Solis reports. "Under the proposed amendment, those agreements would need to include a detailed coordination plan. . .especially when addressing conflicts between local land use plans and federal plans."

Solis adds, "But like Nevada as a whole, land in Eureka County is largely administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, leaving the county at the whims of federal land use policy."

Some solar companies are offering jaw-dropping rates for land leases; prices are a source of profit and concern

A solar company's 'pitch' letter to a farmland
owner. (Farm Journal)

The U.S. eastern corn belt is one of the most popular regions for solar energy companies to vie for land contracts. To convince farmers to negotiate leases, solar companies are offering increasingly high rental rates. Their high-dollar offers can add to land competition and local conflicts, reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "Todd Janzen, an agriculture lawyer based in Indiana, says solar leasing started in the Hoosier state five years ago. Today, such leasing is gaining traction and some controversy."

U.S. farmland is predicted to decrease in value by 2025, but solar energy leases may change that. "In Illinois, farmers are reporting eye-popping offers that are well above $1,500. One farmer near Morton, Ill., shared with U.S. Farm Report some information regarding an offer he received via an unsolicited letter," Morgan writes. "The company offered him a rate of $3,200 to $4,500 per acre. The company offered an additional $1,000 if the farmer signed a letter of intent, plus $3,000 more upon signing the cash lease."

Most sources say that current solar energy leases range from $500 to $4,000 per acre, which even with a 50-acre lease, is a chunk of money; however, the length of those leases may cause some family farmers to balk. Janzen told Morgan, "Farmers are used to one-, two-, maybe five-year cash rent leases, and these are for 20, 30 or even 40 years. So, they're really a generational decision that needs to be made.”

Despite potential monetary gains, solar contracts come with risks. Jazen told Morgan, “I think there's some risk on a personal level. These are becoming somewhat controversial at the county level. And so it can divide neighbors and counties, which is unfortunate, but it's also a reality.”

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."

Solar companies are offering many farmers more than $1,000 per acre for land leases, survey shows

Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture producer survey
graph via Farm Journal

Solar companies need a tremendous amount of open land to achieve their installation goals, which means asking farmers for acreage leases. "A survey of farmers shows the majority of farmers are being offered more than $1,000 per acre by companies for solar leasing, which could also drive up the price of cash rental rates," reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "As the Biden administration works to accelerate their 'clean energy' plan across the U.S., land is in high demand, especially for future solar projects."

Michael Langemeier, an agricultural economist with Purdue University, says the Ag Economy Barometer is revealing "the sticker shock of solar leasing rates," Morgan writes. "The survey of 400 agricultural producers is now asking farmers how many have actively engaged in discussions with companies about leasing farmland you own for solar installation, and the response was surprising."

April's survey showed a substantial increase in the number of farmers who engaged in talks with a solar company representative over the past six months. Morgan reports, "In April, 19% of farmers said they’ve had discussions, up from 12% in March. The bigger surprise may be in the high rates solar companies are offering farmers."

According to the survey, 58% say the rates were more than $1,000 per acre. Survey percentages were tallied for the entire U.S., but the offers ranged from around $750 in the Great Plains to more than $1,200 in the eastern Corn Belt.

While top-dollar solar lease prices may offer a good return for landowning farmers, the cost of cash-rent agreements will also increase. Langemeier told Morgan, "That's going to put upward pressure on cash rents, and it's probably going to put upward pressure on land values, given that it's local. . . . And so it probably impacts a fairly local area, depending on whether your area has solar leasing or not, but it certainly has pretty wide ramifications on what's going on in agriculture.”

Crop prices that don't meet production inputs also tempt farmers to consider solar leases. 

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."

After years of negotiating, California has found a way to connect renewable energy sources with their stressed grid

When interconnected, solar energy can help bigger, more
stressed power grids. (APPA photo, Unsplash)

A new agreement in California has brought energy stakeholders together to help the state's taxed grid.

"For years, utilities have grappled with how to handle the ever-growing number of solar and battery systems trying to connect to the lower-voltage grids that deliver power to customers," reports Jeff St. John of Canary Media. "But distributed solar and battery resources can also be enormous assets: By holding back power when the grid doesn't need it and then sharing their extra power during periods of high demand, they can help alleviate grid strains and lower the cost of keeping the grid running for everyone."

The agreement between California regulators, utilities and clean-energy proponents has taken "nearly four years to hash out," St. John reports. "But in mid-March, the California Public Utilities Commission approved new interconnection rules that take into account how, with the right structures in place, solar and solar-plus-battery systems can be more help than hazard to California's overworked grid."

CPUC's new policy allows solar and battery projects to "modulate how much power they send to the grid with the help of either solar inverters whose power-control systems can reduce power output from moment to moment or batteries that can soak up excess solar power and inject it back into the grid later," St. John explains. 

Solving grid-interconnection conflicts is a nationwide challenge. 

St. John rreports, "Utilities have very good reasons to take a conservative, safety-first approach to interconnection. After all, they're responsible for keeping grids safe and reliable — and distributed energy resources represent potential disruptions to those grids that utilities can't directly control."

Quick hits: Calamity-predicting maps; rural areas grow; check out this freezer; are there ghosts in your kitchen?

First Street aims to predict natural calamities.
(First Street aerial photo)

As home insurance rates continue to spike upward, many insurers, home buyers and owners want more accurate, detailed information on how likely a climate catastrophe is in their region. The climate and tech non-profit First Street is "building up-to-date flood maps to estimate what could happen to homes and businesses in an era of rising sea levels and more frequent, stronger storms," reports Leslie Kaufman of Bloomberg News. The company uses advanced climate science and engineering to identify the risk for every property in the country.

As some Americans choose to leave urban hubs, rural America is growing. "In 2020–21 and 2021–22, rural areas experienced an increase in population because more people moved from urban to rural areas than in the opposite direction, a reversal of domestic migration trends from the previous decade," reports the Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. "Net domestic migration in rural areas jumped from near zero in 2019–20 to more than 0.35 percent in the last two years."

Wilkinson's book celebrates the magical connection
between food and family. (Courtesy photo via UKN)

Family food traditions and recipes are often seen and shared as treasures. Crystal Wilkinson, a Kentucky author and poet, sees her cooking as a path to channeling with her Black Appalachian ancestors, report Lindsey Piercy and Kody Kiser for the University of Kentucky News. "Raised by her grandparents in the hollers of Indian Creek, Kentucky, Wilkinson vividly remembers the dishes that were commonplace in her childhood." Wilkinson calls on cooking memories as a way to reconnect with those she has lost. Her new book is Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts.

A farm's value can be based primarily on the land, but what happens to land values when the property is used for solar? In his commentary for Farm Progress, Michael Lauher reviews two land sales for a look at the outcomes. "Professional farm managers have fielded questions about how a solar lease might affect farmland values — or even the option to lease. . . Two sales do not make a trend. But we can make interesting observations from them." Read his thoughts and advice here.

In 2023, Oreo cookie lovers accused its maker of putting less creamy filling in their beloved cookies. The snack maker denied the allegations. Scripps News reports a new cookie conflict: Chips Ahoy! is boldly changing its cookie recipes. Foodmaker Mondelēz International said different chocolate chips will be in the mix along with a higher-concentrate Madagascar vanilla extract. "An official for Chips Ahoy! said developers spent more than 5,000 hours in the kitchen and tested more than 60 recipes before getting the desired result."

A food pantry in rural Nebraska has a new hunger-fighting kitchen appliance -- a freezer that can hold an entire truckload of meat. "Simon House, a Columbus-based thrift store and food pantry, installed a walk-in freezer, with a capacity to store a truckload of frozen meat," reports Tim Trudell of the Columbus Telegram. It's the "first such freezer in rural America . . . . thousands of people can enjoy protein as part of their meals, said Lucy Lutjelusche, Simon House store manager and director."

Work is under way to create a 'significant' mountaintop renewable energy project in KY to power 170k homes

A BrightNight Starfire Renewable Power Simulation. The area is as big as Disney World.
(BrightNight image via YouTube)

As Appalachian coal production continues to decline, the region is looking at renewable energy production to fill the gap. For one mountaintop mining location, Eastern Kentucky's Starfire Mine, carefully repurposing its sprawling 27, 000 miles is already under way "with one of the most significant renewable energy projects in development in the eastern U.S," reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. "The success of the pilot project happening on the Starfire Mine site could change possibilities for these sorts of mines moving forward."

The pilot project offers significant promise in the short and long term. "BrightNight is a global integrated power company that designs, develops, owns, and operates large-scale renewable power projects," Kobersmith explains. "Its ambitious plan to create an 800-megawatt solar energy project, enough to power 170,000 homes annually, on a 7,000-acre brownfield could tip the scales toward future similar projects."

Developing an expanse the size of Disney World with the unique characteristics of mined land takes time, leaving BrightNight with a lot of work to complete before construction begins in 2026. "The challenges are three-fold: the physical characteristics of the site itself, the number of partners involved, and the complexity of the engineering," Kobersmith writes. BrightNight is collaborating with Rivian, a company that "designs, develops and manufactures electric vehicles and is working towards a net zero operation by 2040," and The Nature Conservancy."

Mindful of Eastern Kentuckians' history with extractive mining, BrightNight's leadership is working to connect the project to Star Mine's surrounding community. "The company is hoping to partner with area educational centers like Hazard Community and Technical College to provide training for the 250 construction jobs that will be created by the project," Kobersmith reports. "They hope to support electricity, road construction, and engineering needs for the Olive Branch Community, a state-supported flood recovery housing development slated to be built on the mine, adjacent to the renewable energy project."

Kobersmith writes, "In the case of Starfire Mine, the BrightNight Starfire Renewable Energy Center will create a taxable asset where there would not otherwise be one, generating an estimated $150 million tax revenue over the life of the project."

Adam Wells, Regional Director of Community and Economic Development for Appalachian Voices, told Kobersmith: "The narrative of renewable energy is powerful in an energy-producing region. It sends a positive message to people, not grasping at the past but looking to the future."

Money for clean-energy projects goes to former coal towns

Boston Metal will make clean-energy metals at the old Weirton
Steel location in W.Va. (Photo by Luke Sharrett, The New York Times)

From Weirton, West Virginia to Vernon, Texas, to Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, the Department of Energy is funding projects designed to help medium-sized manufacturers "bring clean-energy jobs to former coal communities," reports Hiroko Tabuchi of The New York Times. The infusion of cash is part of the Biden administration's effort to gain support for its climate agenda in regions that have long depended on the fossil fuel industry. The administration hopes that funding new jobs in energy can help coal workers and regional economies transition.

Hard work for decent pay and good benefits once defined U.S. coal mining jobs, but over the past decade, those jobs have disappeared. "These energy workers haven't been finding clean-energy jobs despite the rapid growth in industries like solar and wind," Tabuchi writes. "Coal workers, in particular, have struggled in the transition, a recent study found. "Less than a quarter of a percent of workers who left a fossil fuel job in West Virginia moved onto a job in renewable energy, said E. Mark Curtis, an economist at Wake Forest University who led the study. Education was another factor: Fossil fuel workers without a college degree were significantly less likely to find clean energy jobs."

Curtis told Tabuchi: "In places like Texas or in the middle of the country where there's a lot of solar and wind, fossil fuel communities are relatively well positioned to take advantage of renewables. Coal communities generally don't have that, especially when you think about Appalachia." Tabuchi reports, "He said it made sense for government funding to target former coal regions and to focus on manufacturing projects because data showed that former fossil fuel workers most frequently sought to switch to manufacturing jobs."

The DOE grant program aims to help the U.S. become more competitive in the clean-energy manufacturing sector while using the $275 million investment to revitalize former coal towns' economies. The companies building the new plants said "they are eager to tap local expertise," Tabuchi reports. Tadeu Carneiro, the chief executive of Boston Metal, told him: "The most valuable asset for the project is a legacy workforce that has played a significant role in the U.S. metals industry." Tabuchi adds, "Its new West Virginia plant expects to hire 200 to 250 people and will manufacture ultra pure chromium metal and high-temperature alloys that are critical materials needed for clean power, fuel cells, and steel. Currently, foreign manufacturers dominate those materials."