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POLICY: Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has unilaterally disregarded multiple state climate laws passed by the Democratically controlled legislature, creating a legal crisis that could delay implementation for years. (E&E News)
OFFSHORE WIND:
CLIMATE:
UTILITIES: At least 60 neighbors have emailed North Carolina regulators to oppose Duke Energy’s plans to build two natural gas turbines on the site of an existing coal-fired power plant. (News & Observer)
EFFICIENCY:
GRID: An Austin energy consultant discusses the state of Texas’ power grid, including how solar is helping it meet summertime demand. (Texas Observer)
SOLAR:
COAL: Virginia’s efforts to clean up abandoned mine lands have been supercharged by federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Virginia Mercury)
CO2 STORAGE: As Texas opens more offshore areas for carbon sequestration projects, experts foresee the Gulf Coast becoming a global hub for underground disposal of greenhouse gases. (Inside Climate News)
PIPELINES: Virginia organizers mark the fourth anniversary of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s cancellation with a celebration and book release about the pipeline fight. (Daily Progress)
COURTS: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 40-year-old Chevron deference, restoring stronger judicial power over federal agencies and likely curbing their ability to institute sweeping environmental and energy actions. (Grist, E&E News)
ALSO:
CLIMATE:
GRID:
OFFSHORE WIND: The federal government announces an offshore wind energy lease sale that will include areas off the coast of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. (WRDE)
POLICY: Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has unilaterally disregarded multiple state climate laws passed by the Democratically controlled legislature, creating a legal crisis that could delay implementation for years. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS:
CO2 STORAGE: As Texas opens more offshore areas for carbon sequestration projects, experts foresee the Gulf Coast becoming a global hub for underground disposal of greenhouse gases. (Inside Climate News)
ELECTRIFICATION: A fossil fuel trade group plans to file a lawsuit seeking to block Denver, Colorado’s building codes restricting natural gas appliances in commercial and multifamily buildings. (CPR)
OVERSIGHT: Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted continues to deny knowledge of FirstEnergy’s scheme to secure a $1 billion bailout for its unprofitable power plants as text messages show he led the push to pass the 2019 law. (Ohio Capital Journal)
OIL & GAS: Native Alaska communities sue the Biden administration over its oil and gas drilling ban on 10.6 million acres in a national petroleum reserve, saying it violates federal laws. (Bloomberg Law)
CLIMATE:
ELECTRIFICATION: A fossil fuel trade group plans to file a lawsuit seeking to block Denver, Colorado’s building codes restricting natural gas appliances in commercial and multifamily buildings. (CPR)
BATTERIES:
SOLAR:
EFFICIENCY: The U.S. Energy Department awards California and Utah a total of $7.3 million to advance building decarbonization and other efficiency-oriented programs. (news release)
GRID: Federal regulators approve incentives for Southern California Edison’s proposed transmission projects aimed at reducing congestion and increasing access to utility-scale solar. (RTO Insider, subscription)
UTILITIES:
URANIUM:
CLEAN ENERGY: Observers expect an upcoming Hawaii energy strategy to suggest using liquefied natural gas generation as a bridge to help the state reach its 100% renewable energy goal. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
COMMENTARY: After visiting a New Mexico oil and gas drilling site, an author and advocate concludes the “fossil fuel industry chases short-term profit and leaves long-term wreckage in its wake.”(Guardian)
The following commentary was written by Sagar Sane, an advisory board member with the Environmental Defense Fund in North Carolina. See our commentary guidelines for more information.
Western North Carolina is no stranger to the increasingly-felt effects of climate change. From devastating and historic flooding in Canton last August, to wildfires that ravaged more than 5,500 acres in Cherokee County in 2023, it all hits uncomfortably close to home. The good news? There are steps we can take to address how much worse climate change gets. The bad news? Not everyone is committed to taking those steps. Case in point: Duke Energy.
Proceedings are underway now for Duke Energy to present its Carbon Plan to the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Many groups across the state have already reviewed Duke’s plan and are pushing back against it. Hundreds of members of the public showed up at public meetings in the spring. Energy experts, including those representing Environmental Defense Fund, submitted testimony detailing the faults in Duke’s plans and offered data to support an alternative path. Those experts will get their “day in court” to share their perspectives with the commission in July.
So what’s the big problem with Duke’s proposed Carbon plan?
First, the company is relying heavily — much too heavily — on risky and expensive natural gas, with plans for one of the largest gas plant buildouts in the country. Even though Duke knows there are cleaner, more affordable, more sustainable options that won’t be as burdensome for customers, the company is stubbornly standing by natural gas.
Second, the Duke plan comes with a hefty dose of sticker shock for ratepayers, and no financial obligation on Duke’s end. It not only gets to recoup every dollar of the power plant construction costs from ratepayers, it also gets to pocket a return of about 10% on top. While current state law entitles Duke to this perk, it means the company will likely prioritize more spending and building, in an effort to generate greater returns for their shareholders.
Third, under the proposed plan, we as the power bill payers would also be forced to cover every single dollar of the costs associated with fueling the plants themselves.
Fourth, Duke’s Carbon plan fails to fully leverage the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program, an existing source of federal funding allowing utilities to refinance loans for their retiring coal plants, which in turn could help significantly lower ratepayer costs.
Simply put: under Duke’s plan, our state’s clean energy transition is slowed, our power bills go up — and the company makes even more profit.
Frustratingly, Duke Energy is still backing its proposal despite the factits own data shows that gas costs have been the primary driver of residential bill increases in recent years. But instead of supporting predictably-priced clean energy options that save us real money on our bills, they want to pursue a course that would maximize their short-term profits.
Thankfully, there is a better path forward.
For customers, it would be a huge relief if we had low-cost or no-cost fuel sources. If Duke instead moved forward with more offshore wind on a faster timeline, we could be saving meaningfully on our monthly power bills. Just last year in Virginia, Dominion Energy began implementing an offshore wind program anticipated to generate over $3 billion in savings for customers over the next decade. Here in North Carolina, sources like this exist in abundance — but Duke’s current proposal doesn’t take advantage of those options, at least not to the extent they could.
Protecting North Carolinians from suboptimal investments is part of the Utility Commission’s remit, and ratepayers should demand our Commissioners hold Duke accountable. By forcing Duke to rethink and modify its proposed Carbon plan to include a cleaner, more predictable and more affordable mix of power sources, the Utilities Commission can help accelerate our state’s clean energy transition, while also protecting ratepayers’ wallets.
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with High Country News.
When Yakama Nation leaders learned in 2017 of a plan to tunnel through some of their ancestral land for a green energy development, they were caught off guard.
While the tribal nation had come out in favor of climate-friendly projects, this one appeared poised to damage Pushpum, a privately owned ridgeline overlooking the Columbia River in Washington. The nation holds treaty rights to gather traditional foods there, and tribal officials knew they had to stop the project.
Problems arose when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency in charge of permitting hydro energy projects, offered the Yakama Nation what tribal leaders considered an impossible choice: disclose confidential ceremonial, archaeological and cultural knowledge, or waive the right to consult on whether and how the site is developed.
This put the Yakama Nation in a bind. Disclosing exactly what made the land sacred risked revealing to outsiders what they treasured most about it. In the past, disclosure of information about everything from food to archaeological sites enabled non-Natives to loot or otherwise desecrate the land.
Even now, tribal leaders struggle to safely express what the Pushpum project threatens. “I don’t know how in-depth I can go,” said Elaine Harvey, a tribal member and former environmental coordinator for the tribal fisheries department, when asked about the foods and medicines that grow on the land.
“It provides for us,” echoed Yakama Nation Councilmember Jeremy Takala. “Sometimes we do get really protective.”
Although government agencies have sometimes taken significant steps to protect tribal confidentiality, that didn’t happen with the Pushpum proposal, known as the Goldendale Energy Storage Project. Tribal leaders repeatedly objected, telling the agency that if a tribal nation deems a place sacred, they shouldn’t have to break confidentiality to prove it — a position supported by state agency leaders and, new reporting shows, at least one other federal agency.
Nonetheless, after seven years, in February FERC moved the project forward without consulting with the Yakama Nation.
The process known as consultation is often fraught. Federal laws and agency rules require that tribes be able to weigh in on decisions that affect their treaty lands. But in practice, consultation procedures sometimes force tribes to reveal information that makes them more vulnerable, without offering any guaranteed benefit.
The risks of disclosure are not hypothetical: Looting and vandalism are common when information about Indigenous resources becomes public. One important mid-Columbia petroglyph, called Tsagaglalal, or She Who Watches, had to be removed from its original site because of vandalism. And recreational and commercial pickers have flooded one of Washington’s best huckleberry picking areas, called Indian Heaven Wilderness, pushing out Native families trying to stock up for the winter.
The Yakama Nation feared similar outcomes if it fully participated in FERC’s consultation process over the Goldendale development. But there are alternatives. The United Nations recognizes Indigenous peoples’ right to affirmatively consent to development on their sacred lands. A similar model was included in state legislation in Washington three years ago, but Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed it.
The requirements of the consultation process are poorly defined, and state and federal agencies interpret them in a broad range of ways. In the case of Pushpum, critics say that has allowed FERC to overlook tribal concerns.
“They’re just being totally disregarded,” said Simone Anter, an attorney at the environmental nonprofit Columbia Riverkeeper and a descendant of the Pascua Yaqui and Jicarilla Apache nations. “What FERC is doing is so blatantly, blatantly wrong.”
The Yakama Nation has been outspoken in its support for renewable energy development, including solar and small-scale hydro projects. But not at Pushpum; it’s sacred to the Kah-milt-pah people, one of the bands within the Yakama Nation, who still regularly use the site.
The proposal would transform this area into a facility intended to store renewable energy in a low-carbon way. Rye Development, a Florida-based company, submitted an application for permits for a “pumped hydro” system, where a pair of reservoirs connected by a tunnel store energy for future use.
FERC has offered few accommodations for the Yakama Nation on the Goldendale project.
FERC spokesperson Celeste Miller told High Country News and ProPublica in an email that “we will work to address the effects of proposed projects on Tribal rights and resources to the greatest extent we can, consistent with federal law and regulations. This is a pending matter before the Commission, so we cannot discuss the merits of this proceeding.”
“FERC legally doesn’t have to do very much here,” said Kevin Washburn, a dean of the University of Iowa College of Law, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and a former assistant secretary of Indian affairs at the Department of the Interior. “Consultation is designed to open the door so tribes can get in the door to talk to decision-makers.” According to experts, the process can range from collaborative planning that addresses tribal concerns to a perfunctory discussion with minimal impacts, depending on the agency.
“This is the problem with consultation and its lack of teeth,” said Anter. “If the federal government is saying, ‘Hey, we consulted, check that box,’ who’s to say they didn’t?”
There’s another problem with consultation, too: Any discussions with a federal entity are subject to public disclosure. That’s good for government transparency, Washburn said, but it can make tribal nations even more vulnerable. “And it’s why tribes are right to be cautious in what they share with feds,” he said.
That’s an obstacle at Pushpum. Things became even harder there in August 2021, when FERC notified the Yakama Nation that federal consultation would be carried out not by the agency itself, but by the developer. The Yakama Nation pushed back, asserting its treaty rights to negotiate as a sovereign nation only with another nation, not with a private entity. FERC, however, insisted that designating a third party was “standard practice.” The National Historic Preservation Act, signed into law in 1966, says an agency “may authorize an applicant or group of applicants to initiate consultation,” but maintains that the federal agency is still “responsible for their government to government relationships with Indian tribes.”
The Yakama Nation also worried about commission rules that require anything the tribal nation says to FERC be shared with the developer. “It gets very sensitive when we share those kinds of stories,” said Takala, the tribal councilmember. “We just don’t share to anyone, especially a developer.”
Some say FERC could change that internal rule, since it isn’t required by law. “For them to cite their own regulations and be like, ‘Our hands are tied,’ is ridiculous,” Anter said. For months, FERC and the Yakama Nation went back and forth over the conditions under which the tribal government would share sensitive information, with the Yakama Nation repeatedly asking to share information only with FERC.
Ultimately, FERC proposed four ways the Yakama Nation could participate in consultation. In the eyes of tribal leaders, all these options either posed significant risks to the privacy of their information or rendered consultation meaningless.
The first three were laid out in a letter from Vince Yearick, director of FERC’s division of hydropower licensing, sent on Dec. 9, 2021. For option one, it suggested the tribal nation request nondisclosure agreements from anyone accessing sensitive information. Yearick did not specify whether FERC would be responsible for issuing or enforcing these NDAs.
Delano Saluskin, then-chair of the Yakama Nation, called this option “far from the requirements of NHPA or in line with the trust responsibility that the Federal Agency has to Yakama Nation,” citing FERC policies and National Historic Preservation Act law in a February 2022 letter to state and federal government officials requesting support. He added that it “describes a process that does not protect information that is sacred and sensitive from disclosure.”
Alternatively, FERC said, the Yakama Nation could simply redact any sensitive information from documents it filed. This option, however, would leave FERC in the dark about the details of what cultural resources the project would imperil. That would make it harder for FERC to require project adjustments or weigh the specific impacts in its decision about whether to permit construction.
Third, the Yakama Nation could withhold sensitive information altogether, which would present similar problems.
Lastly, in a June 2022 follow-up letter, the commission suggested that the Yakama Nation submit a document “with more details regarding the resources of concern” and a request that some of the information be treated as privileged or withheld from public disclosure.
Overall, Saluskin described FERC’s options as a “failure” to conduct legal consultation in good faith.
A federal agency similarly raised concerns: In May 2023, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which advises the president and the Congress on protecting historic properties across the country, wrote to FERC suggesting that it “provide the Tribes with opportunities to share information that will be kept confidential.” FERC’s rule regarding disclosure, the council said, could insulate the agency from meaningful consultation, “and as a result from any real understanding of the nature and significance of properties of religious and cultural significance for Tribes.”
The concerns over FERC’s engagement with the Yakama Nation are part of a wider discussion of whether and how the U.S. government should protect tribal privacy and cultural resources. Speaking at a tribal energy summit in Tacoma in June 2023, Allyson Brooks, Washington’s state historic preservation officer, said that even though the consent language was vetoed by the governor, state law for protecting confidentiality around tribal cultural properties is still stronger than federal law, which only protects confidentiality if a site is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
In Washington, if a tribal historic preservation officer says, “‘X marks the spot; this is sacred,’ we say, ‘OK,’” Brooks declared. She said asking tribal nations to prove a site’s sacredness is like asking to see a photo of baby Jesus before accepting the sanctity of Christmas. “You don’t. You say ‘nice tree’ and take it at face value. When tribes say ‘X is sacred,’ you should take that at face value too.”
That approach is vital to the Yakama Nation, which recently saw a developer involved with a project proposed in nearby Benton County leak information that the nation believed was private.
The Horse Heaven Hills wind farm would be the biggest energy development of any kind in Washington state history. But the sprawling 72,000-acre project overlaps with nesting habitat for migratory ferruginous hawks, a raptor state-listed as endangered.
Court documents related to the permitting proceedings show that the Yakama Nation believed it had identified the locations of the ferruginous hawks’ nests as confidential, in part because the hawks are ceremonially important. In May 2023, the Yakama Nation requested a protective order from the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, a state-level analog of FERC. The order, which the council issued, instructed all parties to sign a confidentiality agreement before accessing confidential information, similar to the nondisclosure agreements FERC proposed. If any party disclosed that information, they could be liable for damages.
But the order didn’t stop that information from getting out. In February 2024, the Seattle Times published a story on the Horse Heaven Hills wind farm, which included a map of ferruginous hawk nests — a map that was credited to Scout Clean Energy, the developer.
The Yakama Nation quickly filed a motion to enforce the protective order, alleging that Scout Clean Energy had transgressed by passing protected cultural information to the press.
The developer counter-filed, claiming that even if nest locations were a part of confidentiality discussion, the map itself was not, and that it was so imprecise that the critical details remained confidential. The council ultimately agreed.
Despite the risks, Washburn said that tribes should take any opportunity to share their stories with federal officials, even if the conditions aren’t perfect. “I wouldn’t necessarily encourage tribes to give their deepest, darkest secrets to a federal agency,” he said. “But I would encourage them to meet with FERC and try to give FERC a first-person account of why they think this is important.”
Not all experts agree. Brett Lee Shelton, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, said FERC is out of step with other federal and state agencies. “It’s hard to believe that it’s anything but disingenuous, using that tactic,” he said. “It’s pretty well known by any agency officials who deal with Indian tribes that sometimes certain specifics about sacred places need to remain confidential.”
And for Bronsco Jim, a spiritual leader of the Kah-milt-pah people, sharing too many details is out of the question. Cultural specifics stay within the oral teachings of the longhouse, the site of the Kah-milt-pah spiritual community. Jim said he doesn’t even know how to translate all of the information into English. “We don’t write it, you won’t see it posted. You won’t see it in books. It’s our oral history. It’s sacred.”
GAS: Maryland’s public advocate says the utilities in the state are spending, on average, over $700 million a year on gas infrastructure, a practice that is making it harder for the state to hit its climate goals and reduce costs for low-income households. (Inside Climate News)
EMISSIONS:
GRID:
TECH: In Maryland, Johns Hopkins University plans to significantly expand its renewable energy technology lab using a state grant, focusing on carbon management, energy storage, grid optimization and wind power. (news release)
SOLAR:
GEOTHERMAL: A Salem, Massachusetts, church signs with a renewable energy company to study the feasibility of generating geothermal energy. (Salem News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New electric vehicle registration fees will soon come into effect in Vermont, helping replace revenue from gasoline taxes. (NBC 5)
EFFICIENCY: Federal agriculture officials send over $1.26 million to 17 small Vermont and New Hampshire businesses through its rural energy clean energy grant program. (news release)
HEAT: In Washington, D.C., a lower-income neighborhood with many children and elderly folks struggles to deal with the heat island effect, magnified in their community because of a lack of trees and many impervious surfaces. (Washington Post)
OIL & GAS: Federal regulators approve the $10 billion Calcasieu Pass 2 liquified natural gas export terminal in Louisiana despite the Biden administration’s pause on permitting such projects; the company says it’s still waiting for approval to export the fuel. (Floodlight)
ALSO: Virginia residents protest potential construction of a 1,000 MW gas-fired power plant, although a Dominion Energy official says it hasn’t yet finalized its decision where to build the project. (WRIC)
CLIMATE: An Alabama grant program to strengthen roofs to lower insurance premiums and stave off a climate-related withdrawal by insurance companies has become a model that’s been replicated by at least five other states. (Stateline)
SOLAR:
NUCLEAR:
HYDROGEN:
EMISSIONS: The U.S. Supreme Court pauses the U.S. EPA’s planned “good neighbor” rule to reduce the amount of smog that crosses state lines, which was challenged by West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and industry groups. (Texas Tribune)
PIPELINES: A firm files a lawsuit by 35 Oklahoma landowners to force a pipeline company to clean up their properties. (KWTV)
OVERSIGHT:
COAL: An energy company tells Texas regulators it plans to restart a 779 MW coal-fired unit that’s been down since March for maintenance. (Reuters)
GRID:
CLEAN ENERGY: An Oklahoma economic development authority receives $100,000 in federal funding to attract clean energy companies. (KWTV)
COMMENTARY: A West Virginia lawmaker touts the state’s oil and gas industry along with the potential for carbon capture and hydrogen projects. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
TRANSPORTATION: Illinois health and environmental groups call on the state’s pollution control agency to phase out sales of most gas- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035. (Chicago Sun-Times)
CLEAN ENERGY:
AIR POLLUTION: The U.S. Supreme Court sides with Ohio and Indiana by pausing enforcement of the Biden administration’s “good neighbor” rule aimed at preventing downwind air pollution crossing state borders. (Associated Press)
SOLAR: A Chicago-based nonprofit offers 10- to 13-week courses that equip disadvantaged workers with job skills for the state’s growing solar industry. (Chicago Sun-Times)
RENEWABLES: Americans’ support for renewable energy and electric vehicles is declining with older Republicans driving the drop in support since 2020, according to a new Pew survey. (Bloomberg)
NUCLEAR:
COAL: Coal plants in Ohio and Indiana have lost hundreds of millions of dollars so far this year as the costs to operate plants grow compared to cheaper alternatives. (Checks & Balances Project)
GRID: New research suggests utility customers could see bill savings of up to 40% when rooftop solar, battery storage and other demand-reducing technologies are deployed. (Inside Climate News)
ELECTRIFICATION: A $2.2 billion hospital under development in Detroit will include a $235 million electric heating and cooling system that would make it just the second all-electric hospital in the country. (Crain’s Detroit, subscription)
COMMENTARY: The head of a biogas advocacy group says capturing methane from landfills, agricultural waste and other sources to produce electricity could help meet growing power demand. (Utility Dive)
COURTS: The U.S. Supreme Court pauses enforcement of the EPA’s “good neighbor” rule, which sought to hold states responsible for air pollution from power plants and industry that ends up in other states, as legal challenges against it continue. (Associated Press)
ALSO: Another Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission could make it harder for federal energy regulators to enforce their rules and collect fines. (E&E News)
POLITICS:
RENEWABLES: Americans’ support for renewable energy and electric vehicles is declining, with older Republicans driving the drop in support since 2020, according to a new Pew survey. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS:
HYDROGEN: A Texas plant illustrates how water can be turned into hydrogen-based fuel, but the power-intensive process relies on massive numbers of wind and solar plants. (Washington Post)
CLIMATE: At least five other states look to replicate an Alabama grant program that helps homeowners strengthen roofs to lower insurance premiums and stave off a climate-related withdrawal by insurance companies. (Stateline)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An analysis finds Nevada’s electric vehicle and battery industries have created more than 12,000 jobs and brought in $15 billion of private investment to the state. (Nevada Current)
Electric vehicles are gaining ground in Nevada, with new cheaper models and federal incentives enticing drivers away from gasoline-dependent transportation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to soon issue updated pollution limits for new passenger cars and trucks that could slash billions of tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution.
And in Nevada, the push for widespread electric-car adoption by President Joe Biden could also be a boon for the state economy.
EV advocates at a press conference Wednesday highlighted how electrification has created high-paying union jobs and billions in infrastructure investments.
Nevada has pulled in $15 billion in private investment in electric vehicle and battery production, creating more than 12,000 jobs, according to a recent analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental advocacy group.
Nevada ranks fifth in the country for new investments in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. The state also ranks fifth in terms of electric vehicle adoption per 1,000 vehicles, with about 45,000 registered electric cars on the road.
Investments in infrastructure for electric vehicles have been spurred by $27 billion in federal, states, and local investments nationally.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 in Nevada has trained thousands of union workers to meet those new demands of electric vehicle infrastructure. Hunter Stern, assistant business manager of IBEW Local 1245, said large investments in charging stations in the state have already resulted in good-paying union jobs for Nevada residents.
In 2021, the Nevada Legislature passed a mandate requiring NV Energy to implement a plan to expand infrastructure for charging stations. The utility invested $100 million in an effort to build nearly two thousand electric vehicle chargers over three years.
“That’s now jobs for IBEW members,” Stern said, during the press conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center. “We hope to install more and more charging stations at facilities like the convention center. We’ve gotten charging stations in many of the casinos and hotels here in Las Vegas, and in Reno and Sparks, but we want more.”
A recent analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation found that the growth of charging infrastructure could create more than 160,000 jobs by 2032, while about 50% of those jobs will be electrical installation, maintenance and repair jobs.
“Those numbers are going to be skewed higher here in Nevada because of the commitment the state has already made, the plans that are being made, and the work that is coming,” Stern said.
Stern said IBEW Local 1245 in Nevada has trained more than 1,000 workers in the state to work on transportation electrification and has increased the training capacity at facilities in the state to train enough workers to meet demand.
“The state adopted an aggressive, IBEW-endorsed EV charging infrastructure plan that has already met several of its targets. We are meeting the moment,” Stern continued.
Nevada is also on track to receive $38 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, funding that will pay for even more charging stations in the state.
Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy highlighted the county’s plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, a goal that will require electric vehicle buy-in, said McCurdy.
“It’s our job as elected officials to address extreme heat and attain air quality standards. Nearly a third of greenhouse gas pollution comes from the transportation sector, and zero emission clean cars will protect the health of Las Vegas and help clean our air,” McCurdy said.
“We’re doing everything we can to improve our electric vehicle infrastructure,” he continued.
Electric vehicles are also becoming more affordable in Nevada, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.
There are 37 EV models available in Nevada for less than the average new vehicle purchase price of $48,000, with 12 models available for less than $35,000, said David Kieve, president of Environmental Defense Fund Action, the political arm of the group. On average, Nevadans can save up to $27,900 on an electric vehicle compared to a gas-powered vehicle over 10 years, according to the group’s analysis.
Americans are being incentivized more than ever to purchase elective vehicles. Electric vehicle owners can receive as much as a $7,500 federal tax rebate on a new EV or $4,000 for a used one.
“If you’re not sure whether your next car, truck, or SUV should be electric, just ask one of the 45,000 people in the state who own them. Ask them whether they miss spending their hard-earned money at the gas pump, or on costly repairs,” Kieve said.
Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: info@nevadacurrent.com. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and X.
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