Sunscape Renewable Energy is a proposed 500-megawatt solar and 500-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project on up to 3,600 acres of privately owned land in Nueces County, Texas. This project could be operational as soon as the end of 2026 with the potential to provide taxpayers, school districts, hospitals, and the local government with reliable economic benefits for years to come.
Plum Nellie is located in the rolling hills of southeast Cloud County, just northwest of Miltonvale. The area is a mix of cropland, hay fields, and pastures. The project complements the area’s mixed agricultural landscape, providing local farmers with a stable, weather-resistant cash crop in the form of landowner lease payments.
US renewable power developer Invenergy has secured US$1.27 billion to construct a 677MW renewables portfolio, including a 189MW solar PV project in Kansas, US. The Pixley solar PV project, located in Barber County, Kansas, will be purchased by Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), a subsidiary of utility American Electric Power (AEP), and is expected to begin commercial operations in Q1 2025.
Construction is officially underway on the Boot Hill Solar Project. Set to be the largest in Kansas, this 150-megawatt solar facility near Dodge City will feature nearly 300,000 solar panels on a single-axis tracking system. It is expected to generate 400,000 megawatt-hours annually, which is enough to power more than 38,000 Kansas homes.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is poised to create millions of new jobs in green energy and climate infrastructure that could offer middle-class wages and jobs with growth potential to young workers across the country. To implement the act’s plan fully, the country will need to quickly build a skilled workforce ready to fill these jobs. This demand offers an extraordinary chance to provide equitable opportunities for young people of color and those from lower-income families to secure these jobs. High school career academies (also called pathways) may offer an evidence-based place to start. These programs combine a college preparatory curriculum with a career theme and are often structured as small learning communities inside larger high schools. An MDRC evaluation found students who attended career academies experienced improved earnings over the long term. Academies and pathways focused on sectors related to green infrastructure can help high school students build valuable work skills while preparing them for postsecondary education in fast-growing job sectors. MDRC is learning from schools and programs across the country that are building innovative models to prepare high school students for jobs in climate infrastructure.
On Friday, Jan. 31, ES Foundry, an American company advancing U.S. solar by onshoring crystalline solar cell production, celebrated the grand opening of its cutting-edge manufacturing facility.
The Ultium Cells EV battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, is a 2.8 million-square-foot facility being built to supply vehicle batteries to Toyota Motor Corp. Once fully operational, it aims to produce up to 50 gigawatt-hours of battery cells annually and create over 1,700 high-tech jobs in the region. (source)
Climate United announced a new program to offer affordable leasing options for battery electric trucks to small fleets and independent operators to lower operational costs and reduce air pollution in port communities, beginning at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles with the intention to expand nationally. Leveraging a $6.97 billion award from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Investment Fund, Climate United Fund intends to invest up to $250 million to purchase up to 500 class 8 electric trucks, making it the largest single order of electric trucks in U.S. history. This program will accelerate the growth of electric truck manufacturing and battery technology innovation that is needed to deploy zero-emission, heavy-duty vehicles in communities across America.
The City of San Antonio is slashing energy costs and reducing pollution by installing solar panels at 42 city-owned buildings and parking lots, using Direct Pay incentives to make the project more affordable. This smart investment is expected to save taxpayers up to $11 million over 25 years, while creating full-time jobs and helping clean up the air for local families and communities.
Texas-based Solar Proponent’s many solar PV projects across the state will bring 3,990 MW of energy online in the next two years. This includes the company’s planned solar-plus-storage projects, such as the 600+ MW Lunis Creek project in Jackson County and the 800+ MW Tehuacana Creek project in Navarro County.