The Fight

Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Hotspots

Is Washington State’s Huge Wind Farm Actually Out of Danger?

And more of the week’s most important conflicts around renewable energy.

Map.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

1. Madison County, Missouri – A giant battery material recycling plant owned by Critical Mineral Recovery exploded and became engulfed in flames last week, creating a potential Vineyard Wind-level PR headache for energy storage.

  • The explosion led surrounding communities to evacuate. As video of the explosion ricocheted across Facebook and elsewhere, EPA began giving regular public updates and the National Fire Protection Association put an explainer out about the risks of battery fires.
  • As of Monday, EPA was finding “occasional detections” of toxic hydrogen fluoride and particulate matter in the air but “below action levels … typically associated with flare-ups during the continued” safety efforts at the plant.
  • CMR did not respond to a request for comment.

2. Benton County, Washington State – Governor Jay Inslee finally got state approvals finished for Scout Clean Energy’s massive Horse Heaven wind farm after a prolonged battle over project siting, cultural heritage management, and bird habitat.

  • Inslee previously rejected a request by the state’s energy siting council to slash the size of Horse Heaven to accommodate environmental concerns and host community discontent. Some turbines were taken off of the project plans but nowhere near the recommended reduction.
  • I spoke with Paul Krupin at Tri-Cities CARES, a citizens group that was opposed to the scope of the project, who told me his organization and collaborating opponents in the Yakima tribe have yet to decide whether to challenge this approval in state court.
  • “We’re thinking about it,” he said, acknowledging some potential legal claims may have an uphill battle but Yakama tribal members may have a shot because of existing treaty rights.

3. Fulton County, Georgia – A large NextEra battery storage facility outside of Atlanta is facing a lawsuit that commingles usual conflicts over building these properties with environmental justice concerns, I’ve learned.

  • The litigation was filed in October in Fulton County Superior Court by three residents close to the proposed project site and challenges the legality of local regulators’ March approval of the battery project.
  • Activists have declared the project an environmental justice issue given the majority-black surrounding communities also claim to deal with other forms of disproportionate industrialization from Amazon warehouses.
  • “This is an older neighborhood … They’ve lived there my entire life. It’s one thing if you consciously decide to move into a neighborhood that has a battery storage facility,“ activist Mose James IV told podcaster Adrianne Hutchinson in September, “but for some reason on the South side – South Fulton – our neighbors, we look up and there’s warehouses surrounding each and every one of our neighborhoods.”
  • To watch the full interview with James and to hear how this battery fight portends environmental justice problems in the energy transition, here’s a link.

Here’s what else I’m watching…

In Colorado, Weld County commissioners approved part of one of the largest solar projects in the nation proposed by Balanced Rock Power.

In New Mexico, a large solar farm in Sandoval County proposed by a subsidiary of U.S. PCR Investments on land typically used for cattle is facing consternation.

In Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County commissioners are thinking about new solar zoning restrictions.

In Kentucky, Lost City Renewables is still wrestling with local concerns surrounding a 1,300-acre solar farm in rural Muhlenberg County.

In Minnesota, Ranger Power’s Gopher State solar project is starting to go through the public hearing process.

In Texas, Trina Solar – a company media reports have linked to China – announced it sold a large battery plant the day after the election. It was acquired by Norwegian company FREYR.

This article is exclusively
for Heatmap Plus subscribers.

Go deeper inside the politics, projects, and personalities
shaping the energy transition.
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
or
Please enter an email address
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Spotlight

Is the California Battery Fire an East Palestine Moment?

Moss Landing is turning into a growing problem for the energy storage industry.

Moss Landing in the crosshairs.
Heatmap Pro/Getty Images

The Moss Landing battery fire now may be the storage industry’s East Palestine moment – at least in California.

In the weeks since Vistra’s battery plant south of San Francisco caught fire on January 16, at least two lawsuits have been filed against Vistra, PG&E, and battery manufacturer LG Chem by people and business owners claiming damages from the blaze. I have learned at least one more will be filed by individuals who’ve conducted headline-grabbing soil samples that found toxic metals.

Keep reading...Show less
Hotspots

The Vineyard Wind Lawsuit 2.0

And more of the week’s top conflicts around renewable energy.

The Vineyard Wind Lawsuit 2.0

1. Nantucket County, Massachusetts – Welcome to the Vineyard Wind lawsuit 2.0.

  • Fishermen represented by a conservative legal group – the Texas Public Policy Foundation – filed a petition to the Supreme Court this week asserting that the justices can now reconsider approvals for the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project because of the high court’s decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine, a now-defunct judicial precedent that courts defer to agencies on statutory interpretation.
  • It’s not entirely clear whether overturning Chevron will produce a different outcome than the Court’s decision to ignore the last petition from fisherman about Vineyard Wind’s permits. But the argument is definitely different, as the new petition argues a lower court wrongly deferred to agency interpretation of federal laws used to approve the project.
  • The Texas Public Policy Foundation did not respond to requests to discuss this case.

2. Carroll County, Maryland – Carroll County commissioners are intervening in the state permitting fight over two relatively small solar projects, in what has become a wider proxy battle between the county and the state over solar on farmland.

Keep reading...Show less
Q&A

The Case for Agrivoltaics

A conversation with Samantha Levy of American Farmland Trust

The Case for Agrivoltaics

Today’s conversation is with Samantha Levy, senior policy manager for conservation and energy at American Farmland Trust, an agriculture and energy advocacy organization I became familiar with through covering the conflict over solar on farmland. I reached out to Levy after the organization released new recommendations for agrivoltaics policy last week – just before a large agrivoltaics project was canceled in Ohio over local opposition. I wanted to ask: are there any bright spots for the future of solar and farms commingling?

Today’s conversation was lightly edited for clarity.

Keep reading...Show less