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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Most states now charge electric vehicle owners an annual fee to fund road upkeep, though critics say improved fuel economy in conventional vehicles has had a far bigger impact on gas tax revenue than electric vehicles. (E&E News)
EMISSIONS:
CLEAN ENERGY:
WIND: Federal officials allow Vineyard Wind to resume construction as they undertake a “controlled cutting” of the remaining bits of the broken wind turbine blade that haven’t fallen off yet. (Nantucket Current, Utility Dive)
CLIMATE: Wharton is among top business schools launching environmental, social and governance-focused programs, where they’ll learn how climate change can impact investments and other business decisions. (Inside Climate News)
STORAGE:
UTILITIES: In an agreement with Ohio’s attorney general, FirstEnergy will avoid state criminal charges in the corruption scandal surrounding a 2019 bailout law by paying a $20 million settlement — a tiny fraction of the windfall the company continues to receive from ratepayers. (Ohio Capital Journal)
OIL & GAS:
This article was originally published by Colorado Newsline.
The state commission that regulates Colorado’s oil and gas industry this week adopted its first set of rules governing geothermal drilling, taking another step towards fulfilling the broader mandate it was given as part of a legislative makeover of the agency last year. But regulators and experts say not to expect a “boom” in the new technology just yet.
The Energy and Carbon Management Commission was formerly known as the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission until lawmakers rebranded it in 2023. The name change that came with new authority to regulate emerging industries like carbon capture and so-called deep geothermal energy.
ECMC adopted its Deep Geothermal Operations rules on a unanimous 5-0 vote Monday. The 59-page addition to the agency’s rulebook outlines permitting and enforcement procedures broadly similar to those already in place for oil and gas operations, giving the commission the power to approve or deny permits to protect health and safety and ensuring that local governments have a say in the process.
While existing technologies like heat pumps involve drilling geothermal wells hundreds of feet into the ground to heat and cool homes and even entire neighborhoods, the deep geothermal industry aims to help power the electric grid by drilling thousands of feet down into much hotter pockets of the Earth’s crust. To date, the application of deep geothermal technology has been limited by a variety of factors, but some experts point to its potential to serve as a “baseload” source of clean energy to help offset the intermittency of renewables like wind and solar.
Gov. Jared Polis, who has touted geothermal energy’s potential in his “Heat Beneath Our Feet” initiative, said in a statement Monday that with the ECMC’s new rules, the state is “poised to leverage this clean, renewable energy resource.”
“Colorado has incredible low-cost renewable energy resources like geothermal that can help reduce emissions and save Coloradans money,” Polis said. “Geothermal energy can play an integral role in powering the way Coloradans live, work and play, and will help future generations.”
The feasibility of tapping into deep geothermal resources can vary widely according to local geology. A study released last month by the ECMC, the Colorado Geological Survey and Atlanta-based energy firm Teverra analyzed “geothermal utilization opportunities” and found that the Piceance Basin north of Grand Junction, the Raton Basin near Trinidad and a “localized hot spot” along the Colorado-Kansas border rank as the state’s most promising locations.
Colorado Communities for Climate Action, a coalition of 43 local governments supportive of clean energy policies, said the rules adopted by the ECMC struck an “impressive balance.”
“Local governments are optimistic about the role of deep geothermal electricity in efficiently decarbonizing Colorado’s power grid,” Emma Pinter, an Adams County commissioner and vice president of Colorado Communities for Climate Action, said in a statement. “But we have to make sure this new technology benefits all Coloradans and their environment while avoiding the damage we have seen from oil and gas development and other extractive industries.”
“Despite its promise as a clean energy source, (deep geothermal operations) will have some adverse impacts, although we don’t yet know the scope of them, and it’s important to recognize that,” Kate Burke, an assistant county attorney for Boulder County, told commissioners in a rulemaking hearing last week. “The net impacts … should be less than oil and gas, and in some instances, the scale may be smaller, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be impacts to the people, plants and animals living near the facilities.”
Geothermal Rising, a trade group representing geothermal energy companies, was “very satisfied with where the draft rules have landed,” an attorney for the group, Matt Lepore, told commissioners Monday. Lepore is a former chair of the agency who departed in 2018 and has gone on to represent the oil and gas industry in commission proceedings.
Environmental groups have urged the ECMC to follow up with a second geothermal rulemaking process to flesh out its regulations before operations ramp up. Commissioner Brett Ackerman, a former Colorado Parks and Wildlife official, said prior to Monday’s vote that it was important not to “hamper industry” at an early stage, but the agency should “appropriately address future concerns and opportunities as they arise.”
“I agree that it’s highly unlikely that there’s any pending boom of deep geothermal development,” Ackerman said. “We’re rather more at a pilot stage.”
CLIMATE: An investigation finds Oregon-based Nike’s private jets’ greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the company first pledged to reduce its carbon footprint. (Oregonian)
CLEAN ENERGY:
OIL & GAS:
COAL: An international commission considers tighter regulations on Canada coal mines accused of contaminating a river that crosses the border into Idaho. (Idaho Capital Sun)
URANIUM: Arizona’s attorney general calls on federal agencies to update a controversial Grand Canyon-era uranium mine’s decades-old environmental review and apply new science to potential groundwater impacts. (news release)
POLLUTION: California advocates support the San Diego port’s efforts to reduce pollution that disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities, but some say it may be too little too late. (Next City)
WIND: The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management finds proposed wind leasing off Oregon’s coast will have no significant environmental impacts. (KOBI 5)
SOLAR:
STORAGE:
COMMENTARY:
BUILDINGS: A New York start-up focused on decarbonizing big buildings from the outside with insulated, HVAC-integrated panels wins a $250,000 funding prize from a state tech competition; it plans to pilot the tech at a public housing complex. (Canary Media)
ALSO: A New York City public housing complex completed in April is the nation’s largest certified passive-house building and is serving as a model for future development elsewhere. (The Guardian/The City)
GRID:
FOSSIL FUELS: As federal investigators look to understand the cause of a gas leak and subsequent explosion at a Bel Air, Maryland, house, a reporter highlights how previous explosions have informed utility policy. (Baltimore Sun)
POLITICS: Plenty of Inflation Reduction Act funds are being spent in Pennsylvania, a political swing state, but it’s yet to be seen whether voters know where the money is coming from and if it will benefit Democrats in the presidential election. (Politico)
WORKFORCE: Demand for heat pump installation and repair in Maine is exceeding the capacity of technician training programs. (Portland Press Herald)
SOLAR:
TRANSIT: Some senior advocates say Maine housing policy needs a revamp to encourage senior housing to be built near public transit lines. (Bangor Daily News)
COMMENTARY:
RENEWABLES: Wind and solar for the first time are on track to generate more power than coal plants in the U.S. this year thanks to a surge of solar deployment in 2023. (E&E News)
SOLAR:
POLITICS:
BUILDINGS:
CLIMATE: Three Democratic Congress members ask a national insurance body to detail how it’s incorporating climate risks into the industry. (The Hill)
COAL: Wyoming leads 17 other states in a lawsuit seeking to block new U.S. EPA coal ash impoundment rules scheduled to take effect in November. (Cowboy State Daily)
CARBON CAPTURE:
HYDROGEN: A firm pauses development of a proposed hydrogen production hub in Washington state, citing uncertainty over tax incentives and a lack of affordable renewable energy. (Washington State Standard)
North Carolina regulators have approved a controversial green tariff proposal from Duke Energy, rejecting protests from critics who argue it won’t bolster the company’s transition to zero-carbon electricity.
Originally designed as a way for large electric customers to chip in extra for renewable energy projects Duke is already mandated to build, an amended tariff offered in April could allow some customers to speed up construction of new solar farms by about two years.
The revision appeared to help sway the Utilities Commission. The change, the panel said in its Jul. 31 order, is an “improvement” because the change “adds additional accelerated capacity” of renewable energy.
The revised tariff, called Green Source Advantage Choice, has backing from the Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates, an association of some of Duke’s largest customers. The utility says it plans to formalize the program soon in the wake of the regulators’ order.
“The [commission] didn’t give us a deadline but asked that we do so when reasonably feasible,” spokesperson Logan Stewart said over email, “so it will be in the coming weeks. In conjunction, we will be working on updating the Green Source Advantage public webpage to include the new program details.”
For large customers with 100% clean energy commitments, a green tariff is a necessity in North Carolina, where Duke has a monopoly and cities, data centers and the like can’t buy clean energy directly from solar farms.
In theory, a green tariff allows a company such as Google or Amazon to spur a new supply of clean energy equal to their electric demand, with Duke acting as an administrative go-between. An earlier iteration of Green Source Advantage more or less did just that.
But the accounting got more complicated in 2021, when a bipartisan state law required Duke to cut its carbon pollution at least 95% by 2050. If the company is legally required to build scores of solar farms anyway, can a large customer legitimately claim its sponsorship of one project makes a difference?
This question of “regulatory surplus” sparked a flurry of arguments and counter-arguments before the commission for some 18 months. Duke initially claimed such “additionality” was neither feasible nor necessary, and some businesses said chipping in to support the clean energy transition was good enough for them. More than a dozen local chambers of commerce and potential customers wrote regulators in support of the original program.
But Google, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other large customers joined clean energy advocates to flag the problem of regulatory surplus, as did the Center for Resource Solutions, the nonprofit that certifies voluntary renewable energy purchase programs. Duke University, which has no connection to the utility, said it wouldn’t participate in the tariff.
The debate, along with prodding from commissioners, prompted Duke to add a “resource acceleration option” to its proposal. The alternative allows large customers to advance about 150 megawatts of solar energy each year by sponsoring projects not selected in the company’s annual competitive bidding process. Every two years, Duke gets retroactive credit for this “extra” solar as part of its compliance with the 2021 law.
Clean energy advocates believe the new option is a “small step in the right direction.” But they note it accounts for 1 gigawatt of clean energy over ten years, a fifth of the entire program. Customers who lay claim to the remaining 4 gigawatts would not be impacting the state’s transition to clean electricity, they say.
“If you’re the customer of a business who claims to support our state’s clean energy transition by participating in the program, you’re going to expect that business to be making a difference – not just subsidizing what Duke was going to do anyway,” said Nick Jimenez, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The Carolinas Clean Energy Business Alliance, a group of clean energy suppliers, also criticized the acceleration option. And though the Carolina Utility Customers Association, another group of large industrial customers, didn’t oppose the amended proposed tariff, it registered skepticism.
“[Our] members have little interest in the Resource Acceleration Option,” the group said in a letter to regulators, “which would deliver electricity at a premium cost without providing the benefit of regulatory surplus-based environmental attributes that would be useful in meeting corporate environmental, social, and governance goals.”
While advocates see little good in the commission’s approval of the Green Source Advantage Choice program, they still have some faint cause for hope.
One is the so-called Clean Transition Tariff, which Duke could propose later this year. An outgrowth of a May agreement between the utility and Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nucor, that program could allow participating customers to spur new projects, such as solar-battery storage combos or small nuclear energy, that provide carbon-free electricity around the clock.
“This is not within the order,” said Jimenez, but the May memorandum of understanding, “is the big opportunity for something better.”
Duke says the Clean Transition Tariff would be another voluntary option for customers, not a replacement for the one just greenlighted. “We see the approval of Green Source Advantage Choice as a first step,” the company’s Stewart said, “enabling us to move forward with new tariffs like the Clean Transition Tariff.”
Maggie Shober, research director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, agrees the memorandum of understanding is cause for some optimism. But she also notes that it’s only “an agreement to talk about something. It could be an opportunity,” she said, “or it could be a missed opportunity. “
And no matter what, the Clean Transition Tariff won’t cater to municipalities and other midsize customers with climate commitments. If these customers decline to pursue Green Source Advantage Choice, their only option is to wait for Duke to adjust.
Commissioner Jeff Hughes pointed to that possibility in a concurring opinion.
“Once the program offerings are launched, it will quickly become clear whether the program is as attractive as Duke asserts,” Hughes wrote. “If concerns continue and interest is modest from the outset, it is my hope that Duke will work quickly on new programs that will have a greater impact.”
GRID: The San Carlos Apache Tribe calls on the federal government to replace an aging transmission line after unusually high winds damaged it and left the northern half of the southeastern Arizona reservation without power. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed 600 MW Samantha solar-plus-storage project in eastern Nevada. (news release)
HYDROGEN:
UTILITIES: A southern Idaho utility breaks ground on a 17.5 MW natural gas peaker plant and energy research center. (Local News 8)
STORAGE: Industry observers worry a proposed 150 MW battery energy storage system in Idaho could run into opposition after a county in the state rejected a utility-scale solar project. (Power Engineering)
CARBON CAPTURE: A study finds previous estimates vastly overinflate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be stored in crops and soil, throwing an Oregon initiative relying on agricultural carbon sequestration into question. (OPB)
OIL & GAS:
TRANSPORTATION: A historic tourist railroad in southwestern Colorado converts its coal-burning steam locomotives to run on oil in an effort to reduce wildfire hazard. (KSUT)
GEOTHERMAL: Colorado regulators adopt rules for deep geothermal development after expanding their focus from oil and gas to other energy and carbon capture projects. (Colorado Politics)
COAL: Wyoming leads 17 other states in a lawsuit seeking to block new U.S. EPA coal ash impoundment rules scheduled to take effect in November. (Cowboy State Daily)
NUCLEAR: Tech companies increasingly seek to directly connect data centers to nuclear plants, a concept that has drawn opposition from some utilities that claim it would harm other ratepayers. (Canary Media, CNBC)
POLITICS:
RENEWABLES:
SOLAR:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The market slowdown around electric vehicles causes concern about the sector’s leading role in Georgia’s manufacturing renaissance, which one state official has called the state’s second industrial revolution. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
WIND: Despite the depiction of toppled wind turbines in this summer’s sequel to “Twister,” researchers say turbines are generally built to withstand extreme winds and tornadoes. (E&E News)
MANUFACTURING: Around 40% of the largest manufacturing investments announced in the year after the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act have since been delayed due to market conditions and uncertainty around the next presidential administration, a news organization’s analysis finds. (Financial Times, subscription)
CARBON CAPTURE: A California nonprofit finds state plans to capture and sequester 50 million tons of carbon dioxide would require about 1,150 miles of new pipelines and other infrastructure. (Capital & Main)
The following commentary was written by Larry Glover, a Maryland-based energy marketing & communications SME. See our commentary guidelines for more information.
This heat wave is only the beginning. As climate disasters and extreme weather events become more frequent, ensuring reliable and affordable access to electricity for all communities has never been more urgent. Places that we typically think of as pleasant in the summer months are becoming heat domes, and many electricity providers remain overwhelmed when their peak energy demand threatens the stability of the entire electric grid.
Clean, distributed, energy resources such as solar and batteries are anchoring our country’s electric grid in the face of extreme summer heat. And while the federal government has a duty here, state policymakers and regulators hold an immense amount of power to pave the way for these clean energy technologies.
Let’s start with the good news. Several states are beginning to realize the need for clean energy – both out of protecting energy users from losing power during extreme weather and as an equitable path forward. I’m heartened to see that Maryland is the latest state to heed those calls to action by enacting key legislation that will tackle this challenge head-on, establishing an equitable path toward a sustainable energy future.
This year, Maryland passed a trio of bills — signed by Gov. Wes Moore — to expand access to solar, stimulate the solar industry and require utilities to leverage distributed energy resources that will ultimately benefit underserved communities, which suffer the most from high-energy burdens and pollution. The Brighter Tomorrow Act directs the Maryland Energy Administration to earmark tens of millions of dollars in the coming years to provide upfront grants for low and moderate-income households across the state to install solar. The Drive Act, encourages utilities to harness these home solar and battery systems into virtual power plants (VPPs), which are networks of connected solar and battery systems that function as a unified power source. Finally, the Empower Act ensures those who invest in home batteries are fairly compensated, allowing people to invest in these resources to take care of their neighbors.
There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to state policy promoting distributed energy, and other states have taken alternative routes. In Illinois, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), designed to cut emissions across the state, encouraged a rooftop solar boom since its 2021 passage. Texas is on California’s tail for solar and storage, bolstered by a VPP pilot program approved by ERCOT last year.
Unfortunately, for every state or region moving forward, others are moving back. Cuts to the net-metering program in California have caused the solar industry to contract to 2014 levels, and cost 17,000 jobs. Puerto Rico, a territory that is perhaps most in need of solar and storage as it faces frequent heat waves and hurricanes threatening the electric grid, also has net metering on the chopping block, with hurricane season barely underway. It’s truly mind-boggling.
Through the hottest summer many of us have experienced, every state is grappling with the escalating consequences of climate change. As the White House, rightfully, continues to prioritize environmental justice initiatives, our state governments also have a duty to incentivize and enable clean energy resources. Our grid and our lives depend on it.
Darryl Moton is ready to “get on a roof.”
The 25-year-old Chicago resident is among the latest graduates of an intensive 13-week solar training course that’s helping to connect employers with job candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.
Moton was referred by another job readiness program meant to keep youth away from gun violence. He “never knew about solar” before but now sees himself owning a solar company and using the proceeds to fund his music and clothing design endeavors.
He and others interviewed for jobs with a dozen employers assembled at a church on Chicago’s West Side on August 1 as part of the fourth training cohort for the 548 Foundation, which is partnering with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on a recently-announced $30 million initiative to create 1,000 solar jobs in Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods.
The 548 Foundation is part of 548 Enterprise, a suite of renewable energy and affordable housing development projects, launched in 2019 and named after the public housing unit where co-founder A.J. Patton grew up.
The idea is to help keep housing affordable by using solar to lower energy bills, while training people left out of the traditional energy economy to supply that solar.
“When you invest in a community, the biggest question is who benefits, who gets the jobs?” asked Patton, during the job fair. “This is as good as it gets,” he added, about the recent state investment. “We just have to keep advocating for quality policy.”
Employers at the job fair said such training programs are crucial for them to find workers in Illinois, where robust solar incentives are attracting many out-of-state companies eager to hire and hit the ground. Mike Huneke, energy operations manager for Minnesota-based Knobelsdorff said he has hired 18 employees from previous 548 cohorts, and he expected to make about six job offers after the recent interviews.
“Illinois is on fire,” said Huneke. “We’re not from Illinois, so finding this new talent pipeline is what we need. We have a ton of projects coming up.”
Lisa Cotton, 30, has dreamed of being an electrician since she was a kid. She had received two job offers at the August 1 fair before the group even broke for lunch.
“A lot of times you go through a training program, get a certificate, and that’s the end of it,” said Jacqueline Williams of the Restoring Sovereignty Project, a partner which administers the wraparound services for the training program.
The 548 program makes sure to connect graduates with employers, and only companies with specific openings to fill are invited to the job fair. 548 and its partners also stay in contact with graduates and employers to make sure the placement is successful.
“We have a post-grad program where they can call us any time, and an alumni fund. If an employer says, ‘This guy can’t come to work because his radiator is busted,’ we’ll take care of that,” said Williams.
After Illinois passed an ambitious clean energy law in 2017, multiple solar training programs were launched in keeping with the law’s equity provisions. But employers and advocates were frustrated by a seeming disconnect in which many trainees never got solar jobs, and employers weren’t sure how to find the workers.
Since then, the state has passed another clean energy law – the 2021 Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, with even more ambitious equity mandates; and non-profit organizations have developed and honed more advanced workforce training programs. To access incentives under the law, employers need to hire a percent of equity-eligible applicants that rises to 30% by 2030. The program prioritizes people impacted by the criminal justice system, alumni of the foster care system, and people who live in equity-designated communities.
548 affiliates help employers navigate the paperwork and requirements involved in the equity incentives. Several employers at the job fair said this is a plus, but noted that regardless of equity, they are desperate for the type of highly-trained, enthusiastic candidates coming out of the 548 program.
“This is a great way to bridge what the state is trying to do with its clean energy goals, and connecting under-represented people with these opportunities,” said Annette Poulimenos, talent acquisition manager of Terrasmart, a major utility-scale solar provider. “We came here ready to hire, and I think we’re going to walk away with some new talent.”
Member organizations of the Chicago Coalition for Intercommunalism do outreach to recruit most of the training program participants.
Nicholas Brock found out about the training thanks to a staffer at one of these organizations who noticed his professional attitude and punctuality as he walked by every morning to a different workforce program.
“Whatever I do, nine times out of 10, I’m the first one to get there, before the managers,” said Brock, 20. “He noticed that and asked me, ‘Have you ever heard about solar panels?’”
Brock knew little about solar at that point, but now he aims to be a solar project manager.
“I’m so glad I came here,” he said. “They bring out the best in you.”
Wraparound, holistic services are key to the program’s success. During the training and for a year afterwards, trainees and alumni can apply for financial help or other types of assistance.
“There are so many barriers, it might be child care or your car is impounded,” said Williams. “We might be writing a letter to a judge asking to ‘please take him off house arrest so he can work.’ It’s intensive case management, navigating the bureaucratic anomalies that arise when you’re system-impacted.”
Moises Vega III, 26 – who always wanted to work in renewables because “it’s literally the future” – noted that his car battery died during the training program, and he was provided funds to get his vehicle working again.
While ample support is available, the program itself is rigorous and demanding. Classes meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, and trainees are required to check their phones at the door and be fully focused, notes instructor and 548 workforce strategies director Michael Thomas. During the hands-on boot camp week, the day starts at 6 a.m.
“That’s when the trades start,” noted Thomas. “You need to figure out how that works, how will you get child care at 5:30 a.m.?”
Sixty-one trainees started in the first three cohorts, and 46 graduated, the first group in July 2023. The fourth cohort started with 25, and as of the job fair, 18 were on track to graduate. Eighty-five percent of graduates from the first three cohorts are currently working in the field, according to 548.
“Even though I wish the graduation rate were higher, the people who commit to it, stay with it,” said Kynnée Golder, CEO of Global HR Business Solutions, which has an oversight role for the 548 Foundation. “It’s monumental, it’s life-changing for a lot of people.”
The curriculum starts with life skills, including interpersonal relationships, resume-building, financial planning and more. Each day begins with a spiritual reflection.
The students learn about electricity and energy, and soon move into specific instruction on solar installation and operation. Rooms at St. Agatha’s church served as labs, where students connected wires, built converters and eventually mounted solar panels on a demonstration pitched, shingled roof.
Terrance Hanson, 40, credited Thomas as “the best instructor ever.”
“I’m not a young kid, my brain is no longer a sponge,” Hanson said. “He made sure I got it all. Now I feel like I know so much, I’m confident and prepared to get out and show what I can do.”
He added that people in disinvested neighborhoods have ample untapped potential to be part of the clean energy workforce.
“You see a lot of basketball players in my community because there are a lot of basketball hoops,” he said. “If there were golf courses in the hood, you would see more golfers. It’s about opportunities. And this was the most amazing and empowering thing I’ve ever been through.”
Jack Ailey co-founded Ailey Solar in 2012, making it the oldest still-operating residential installer in Illinois, by his calculations. He noted that there can be high turnover among installers, and intensive training and preparation is key.
“You’re out there in the sun, the cold, it’s heavy physical labor, wrestling 40-pound panels up to the roof,” he said. “You have to know what you’re getting into.”
“Some training programs vary in quality,” Ailey added, but he was impressed by the candidates at the 548 job fair.
Trainees test for and receive multiple certifications, including the OSHA 30 for quality assurance, and the NCCER and NABCEP for construction and solar professionals, respectively. The program is also a pre-apprenticeship qualifier, allowing graduates to move on to paid, long-term apprenticeships with unions representing carpenters, electricians, plumbers and laborers – the gateway to a lucrative and stable career in the trades.
Thomas noted that most trade unions still don’t have a major focus on solar.
“We’re ahead of the unions, and our graduates bring real value to them, and to the companies,” he said. “The students might know more than a company’s foreman knows. It’s a win-win situation. Solar is a nascent industry, there’s so much opportunity in this space.”
When Tredgett Page, 38, connected with 548, his auto detailing work and other odd jobs were not going well. He had always loved science and been curious about photosynthesis and the sun’s power.
“I had been in the streets before, and I was leaning back toward that, but God brought me here,” he said. “Now I have the confidence, I know what I’m talking about, I know about megawatts and kilowatts, net metering, grid-connected, pretty much anything about solar.”
He sees metaphorical significance in his new trade: “Energy is life, and it teaches you balance, it’s all about negative and positive ions.” He feels like “the sky is the limit” after the training.
“I have so much skill that they gave me, now I’m hungry to use it,” he said. “I’m a little nervous, but optimistic, excited, very exuberant!”
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