Latest news with #CanaryMedia
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Climate Science: Earth is still warming
This May and early June has been a busy period from a global climate change and global warming perspective. It has even touched most of us here in the North Country. Most of us will have noticed the haze in the air in recent days and health alerts issues by different state and federal agencies. Yes, these are tiny particles from enormous forest fires in northwest Canada some 2,000 or more miles away. You can visit the NYSDEC Air Quality Index, which is updated daily. For comparison purposes, the entire Adirondack Park consists of six million acres of private and state land. So far, the forest fires in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and other northern regions have burned over seven million acres and the fire season has just started. Hundreds of fires are still burning. The implications are serious in that these burned trees have now emitted enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, along with particulates and they no longer can absorb CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis. It is a double whammy. Scientists in Canada think that the warmer, drier winter with less snow cover, followed by a dryer than normal spring season, has set the stage for these wildfires. Temperatures across Canada have been warmer than normal this spring too. And finally, there's more fuel for the flames from tropical forests too. We are losing tropical forests in the equatorial regions as well as the northern forests in Canada, Siberia and elsewhere. There is concern that forests are no longer sinks for CO2 but emitters. And then we have an independent climate related organization titled Berkeley Earth. At first, uncertain of government interpretation of temperature data, they analyzed the raw climate data independently. And, lo and behold, they produced the same results. Full partners now, they publish their own data sets and one telling graph is included here and titled 'Global Warming by Month.' The graph has a lot of information in it, so let's take a closer look. The axis along the bottom is for the 12 months of the year. Above that are a series of horizontal wiggly lines moving from left to right. Each line traces the annual temperatures for a year and whether it is above or below a calculated baseline. The vertical axis on the right shows temperature changes over the past century in fractions of a degree Celsius increments. They are color coded with the blue lines being colder annual records and then the color gradually changes to yellow, orange and then red, reflecting recent warmer annual temperatures. The dot for May 2025 shows the second warmest May in the 175-year data record. It is about 1.5 degrees C warmer than the earliest data shown here. No surprise, it's just another confirmation of our warming planet over this time period. Changes in our climate also offer opportunities for entrepreneurs too. JR Howard of Texas Solar Sheep cannot buy sheep fast enough. According to Canary Media, he supplies them to solar farms, where their grazing keeps the grass short, which is cheaper than mowing it. Eight new solar fields in Texas run by Enel North America placed an order for 6,000 sheep in 2024 to manage this process. This form of Agrivoltaics which combines solar panels and agriculture, is a model of efficient land use that benefits farmers, renewable energy initiatives and business. Using sheep instead of mowing also reduces fossil fuel use and allows native plants to mature and bloom and increases biodiversity. See the photo of sheep among solar panels provided by Texas Solar Sheep. Almost 100,000 acres of panels are now grazed in the U.S. And then we have artists in the climate picture too. The Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown has a new Exhibition, 'The Elements: Images of Hope,' from May 24 to Oct. 12. Dan Keegan is featured with several of his graphite drawings on archival paper in the Rosenberg Gallery at the Museum. An earlier graphite on paper image from 2022 is titled 'Skyline,' which is from a series on climate change and the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. It is 30 inches high by 80 inches wide. Some other news highlights are as follows: • Americans who now think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a ratio of 5 to 1 (73% versus 14%.) Yale Program on Climate Change, Feb. 2025. • Of the first 25 of 100 leading institutions in energy research and development globally, 23 are in China. (Nature, Vol. 639, 20 March 2025.) • In March 2025, 93.2% of new vehicle registrations in Norway were electric. • According to Clean Technica, May 25, 2025, China's clean power generation has caused the nation's CO2 emissions to drop despite rapid power demand growth. And, so it goes.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chart: Hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy at risk with GOP bill
See more from Canary Media's "Chart of the week' column. Amid rising power bills and surging energy demand, Republicans in Congress are set to undermine the country's primary source of new electricity — clean energy. The 'Big Beautiful Bill' passed in May by House Republicans and now being considered by the Senate would rapidly phase out key clean-energy tax credits, casting uncertainty over more than 600 gigawatts' worth of solar, battery, and wind projects slated to come online in 2028 or later, according to new analysis from research firm Cleanview. To be fair, the 600-GW figure is based on what's currently in the interconnection queue, and a good number of those projects won't get built regardless of the fate of the tax credits. (Projects often drop out of the queue for all kinds of reasons.) But if the bill kneecaps even a fraction of what's anticipated, it will have serious consequences for the U.S. energy system. For context, the entirety of the U.S. had a generating capacity of around 1,200 gigawatts at the end of 2023. The current version of the legislation would rapidly phase out federal tax credits that encourage clean energy development. As it stands, developers would be eligible for the tax credit only if their projects begin construction within 60 days of the bill's passage and if they come online before the end of 2028. That puts the 318 GW worth of projects planned to be completed in 2029 and later at explicit risk of losing their tax-credit eligibility. It also jeopardizes 2028 projects that either can't break ground with just two months' notice or which might hit snags that push their completion into 2029. That doesn't necessarily mean those projects would be cancelled, but it would scramble their economics, which were calculated under an entirely different set of policy assumptions. It's near certain that some would fall through. Many more would be delayed as developers hash out new financial terms — read: higher power prices that will be passed onto consumers. A slowdown in clean energy construction is the exact opposite of what the moment demands. These days, when a new energy project is built in the U.S., more than nine times out of 10 it is a solar, battery, or wind installation. That's not an exaggeration. In 2024, solar, batteries, and wind made up 93% of new energy resources. The year before that, it was 94%. Meanwhile, construction of new large-scale fossil-gas power plants is constrained by turbine shortages that are unlikely to ease in the near term. At the same time, electricity demand is surging and expected to climb even higher in coming years as the development of AI sets off a race to construct power-hungry data centers. If congressional Republicans pass a bill that stifles solar, batteries, and wind, study after study predicts the same outcome: higher energy bills — and more planet-warming emissions.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Buddy Carter, GOP rep from Georgia, on solar power, EVs, and nuclear
Rep. Buddy Carter, the Republican congressman for Georgia's 1st congressional district, joined Canary Media's Julian Spector for an interview on stage on June 4 at our Canary Live event in Washington, D.C. Listen to the audio or read the transcript, which has been edited for clarity and brevity. Julian Spector: Congressman Buddy Carter from Georgia — there he is. Let's give him a warm Canary Media welcome. It's an honor to have you here. We're just kicking off our first live event in Washington, D.C. Everyone is into the energy scene — the technologies and the policies. I wanted to start by saying why we were so excited to have you here. You're the Republican congressman from Georgia's 1st district. Buddy Carter: Thank you! My district is around Savannah. You've got the entire coast of pristine coastline and two major seaports: the Port of Savannah and No. 3 container port in the country, and the Port of Brunswick, the No. 1 roll-on, roll-off port in the country. A lot of military presence, Fort Stewart, Kings Bay, two Coast Guard stations. A strong forestry presence, a strong ag presence. Spector: And recently, about an $8 billion EV factory, right? Carter: Yes, a $7.6 billion investment by Hyundai, the largest single economic development project in the history of our state. And we're very, very proud of that. As I say, $7.6 billion to generate about 8,500 jobs — it will probably be that much more investment and probably many more jobs and ancillary businesses. We're very excited about it. They've already geared up and have announced that they're even going to expand before they even got started. Spector: And I think it's making the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9. So if you have one of those cars, it'll come from your district. I'm from D.C., and I ended up going to college down in the South. (Go Blue Devils, figure that one out.) But sometimes, I think D.C. folks, we don't always keep up with all the things happening in the South. There's really a cluster of innovation and factories there. I was wondering if you could say, what has clean energy meant to the economy of Georgia, both in the manufacturing side and the installation of solar and battery projects? Carter: First of all, Georgia is the No. 7 state in the nation in solar energy. We're very proud of that. We've worked very diligently to make that happen. I like to say in Georgia, we've got a lot of pine trees, a lot of sunshine, a lot of pretty girls. We've got a lot to be proud of, and certainly sunshine and solar is very important. I also would be remiss if I did not mention the fact that Georgia is the first state to have nuclear reactors in the last 30 years — Plant Vogtle. I'm a nuclear fan. Plant Vogtle is the largest clean energy plant in the United States. We added two reactors, reactors 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle. And now, in addition to Plant Vogtle, Plant Hatch, which is in my district, is delivering about 33% of the energy in the state of Georgia right now. I think that's very significant. Spector: That's a lot more than the nation as a whole. It's about 18% or 19% of overall U.S. generation. So you're above the national average there. Carter: We talk a lot about the small [modular] reactors, SMRs, and we're excited about them, too. But I think it's significant to note that Southern Co. has said that their next investment is going to be another [AP1000]; they like the big reactors. I thought that was pretty significant for them to say that. We look forward to that because nuclear power is a big part of what we're doing. We also have battery plants in the state of Georgia. Georgia, for 11 years in a row, has been the No. 1 state in which to do business, and there's a reason for that. We are under good leadership from our governor, from our legislature. We create a pro-business environment, but we've also had the availability and accessibility and affordability of energy, which is very important. Now let's talk about affordability, because I think that's an important thing to talk about as well. Yes, nuclear power is more expensive at this point, but I think it's important to note that the difference between the cost of reactor No. 3 and reactor No. 4 was significant. We learned a lot of things when we built reactor No. 3 that we were able to apply to reactor No. 4 that saved a lot of money. Spector: So for full journalistic duty, there was quite a bit of going over budget on the total Vogtle project, but that's an interesting point about bringing the overruns down with the learning. Speaking of the cost of energy, I think we can't ignore there's a little something going on in Washington this week, which is this big, beautiful budget. I was looking back over a letter you wrote with some of your colleagues from the Conservative Climate Caucus last summer, basically saying that prematurely repealing the energy tax credits, particularly those used to justify investments that already broke ground, could undermine private investment and stop development that's already ongoing. And I think that applies both to factories that are trying to make things in America, and power plants, solar plants. So, you voted for the budget bill. What happened between the argument you were making in that letter last summer and the bill that you ultimately voted for? Carter: Let's stay focused on what we're trying to do with one big, beautiful bill. If we do not pass that, Americans will be looking at the largest tax increase they've ever seen. In fact, I've signed three letters saying that we should not take a sledgehammer to the Inflation Reduction Act. Instead, we should take a scalpel, because I've always said, and I continue to say, if these policies result in stabilizing our supply chain or if they result in domestic manufacturing, why wouldn't we look at them? Why wouldn't we keep them? That's Republican priorities anyway. I want to share a quick story with you because I thought it was somewhat humorous. I was calling up a supporter. And, you know, I'm running statewide. I should have mentioned that I'm running for U.S. Senate in the next election. I called up a potential supporter, and he was saying, 'Well, you signed that letter and you're not supporting the president because you're not doing away with the IRA.' And I said, 'Well, wait a minute now, why would we?' He responded: 'Well, if you want to keep some of those things, you ought to just do away with the IRA and then bring them back. So what's the difference?' Give me a break. Republican ideas, Democratic ideas. We do it all the time — we take things that the Democrats did, we claim them to be ours, and they do the same thing. They're good ideas, and I think it's important to note that. Some of these things did result in stabilizing the supply chain and in domestic manufacturing. Why wouldn't we keep those things? Why wouldn't we look at that? The Republicans want that just as much as the Democrats. Now, having said that, let me make one thing clear: The decision to make the $7.6 billion investment and to build that plant was made pre-IRA. Now, would they like to have the tax credits? Of course they would; any business would. But I think it is significant that we understand that decision was made. Let me assure you, as I have assured them, they made a wise decision. There's going to be a market for EVs. I'm one who strongly believes that the government shouldn't be choosing winners and losers, because when the government chooses winners and losers, consumers lose. There's going to be a market for EVs. It may not be in rural South Georgia, but eventually it will. I can assure you, in the urban areas, Hyundai is going to do great. Spector: If the current budget gets enacted, it almost guarantees a lower demand for their product. Are you worried about the jobs in your district, or any kind of follow-on impacts from that? Carter: I'm not naive enough to believe that it's not going to have some impact. But as I said, the decision that Hyundai made was before those tax credits were there. I think they're going to feel like they made a very wise decision in building this plant, making this investment. I think it ought to be market-driven. I don't think the government should be telling people what kind of car to be driving or what kind of appliance you're going to be using. I just don't think that's the role of the government. Spector: Do you see yourself having any role in trying to talk to your Senate colleagues and see if some of these credits could get back in on the Senate side in a way that ends up in the final package? Are you actively talking to anybody about that or trying to make that case? Carter: Yes, yes. I do. I signed all three letters, and I didn't just sign them — I meant it. I truly feel that way. So yes, I have been talking to some of our Senate colleagues, although I quite honestly don't know how much difference it makes. I'm talking to these guys and trying to join them. I don't know why. The main thing is we've got to get these tax cuts extended. We have to make sure that we don't have the largest tax increase in the history of the world. We have companies coming into our office every day. They need stability. They need certainty in order to make investments. I understand that — I was in business for myself for 32 years. I ran three independent retail pharmacies — talk about swimming with sharks, I was up against the big boys. The government's been run in the past few decades by executive orders. We've got to get away from that. Whether you're Republican or Democrat, you ought to feel, if you're a member of Congress, that the legislative branch has got to assert themselves and their authority as our forefathers intended for it to be. I am trying to encourage some of these senators and, even still, some House members, because it's going to come back to us. I'm not going to mislead you. It's a heavy lift. I think the biggest hurdle we're trying to get over is in the Senate, and some of those who, first of all, feel like, you know, we didn't address the debt. That's not what we were doing this for. Does it need to be addressed? Obviously. I'm on the budget committee. Obviously it needs to be addressed. And don't think that we can't do another reconciliation package. We can do another one, and I would submit to you that we need to do a budget reconciliation package for debt reduction. I'm chair of the health subcommittee. I'm a pharmacist by profession. Medicaid, Medicare — we need reforms in that, but not here. Keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing is to get these tax cuts extended, because if we don't, the impact it's going to have on our economy is going to be devastating. Spector: And then another kind of impact that's been flagged recently in a tweet from Tesla's Elon Musk and his electric car company: It's about the changes to tax credits, jeopardizing the ability to build the new power production we need for the AI boom. After decades of pretty much flat demand for electricity, we're now seeing pretty mind-blowing expectations of how much is going to be needed in the next few years. Solar is the thing that's getting built the most across the country right now, and if the credits sort of shake up the investment landscape there, they're saying it could jeopardize 60 gigawatts of annual deployment of clean energy. Do you think your colleagues are grappling with that, a possibility that these cuts might actually undermine the president's AI agenda and the sort of economic vitality that's powered by electricity? Carter: Look, I don't care what economic sector you're talking about. In Congress right now, the buzz at the Capitol is AI. Every committee is having a hearing on AI. Health subcommittee, we are having hearings on AI, and so is natural resources. Everything is AI right now. We understand now, to your point, the demand for energy. That's why I'm an all-of-the-above type energy strategist, because we are going to need every electron we can get. We all know how much data centers in AI are going to demand. To your point, yes, we're going to need solar, we're going to need wind, we're going to need nuclear and its baseload reliability. Yes, we're going to need it. We're going to need every available electron. All of you understand how important this is. We cannot afford to lose this race to China. We cannot afford to lose the AI race to China. If we do, then God help us, and China's trying to do it. Spector: Setting aside the current budget battle, are there any specific policies you would want to propose to ensure the U.S. can meet its electricity needs for AI and all the new factories? Are there any specific policies you'd like to pass once the budget discussions get taken care of? Carter: Absolutely. In the Energy and Commerce Committee, we're working on a number of different policies. I mentioned that I've signed three letters. The last letter was with [Rep.] Dan Newhouse on nuclear energy. We had this tragedy in Fukushima, and I was able to go to Japan and see what happened there. Europe's kind of abandoned nuclear energy, but I think they're going back now. I know France, thank goodness, didn't abandon it; they're providing it for everyone. Nuclear is going to be a big part of it. We're going to need everything. I am encouraging my colleagues to look at everything. Spector: I've been seeing in my reporting a lot of companies that used to talk a lot about climate, and nonprofits, NGOs, pulling back from using the word climate in today's Washington. You're still a leader of the Conservative Climate Caucus. So I wonder, can you get traction in President Trump's Washington, using that word climate? Does that generate some pushback from your colleagues? Or do you think it's important to keep using that language? Carter: I know that some of you are not going to believe this, but Republicans are pro-environment. Being pro-growth and pro-environment are not mutually exclusive. You can be both, and we are both. I have the honor and privilege of representing, as I said, the coast of Georgia. It's where I've lived all my life and where I intend to live the rest of my life. Some of my fondest memories growing up are going fishing with my dad. I want my sons, I want my grandchildren, to have that same opportunity to enjoy those memories. I love the environment. I'm not going to ever do anything intentionally to hurt the environment. I tell you, environmentalists are tough — you can be with 99.9% of the time, but that 0.1% of the time you're not with them, oh boy, they will persecute you. My point is, it is important for us as Republicans to acknowledge, and I do believe. I believe in climate change. I believe that man has an impact on the climate and that we need to address it. I believe that we should be looking toward cleaner energy and renewable energy. I do believe that. That's why I'm cochair of the Conservative Climate Caucus. That's why I work. That's why I signed those three letters. That's why I'm working diligently on this. I want us to do that, but at the same time, we've got to be careful not to cut our nose off in spite of our face. It needs to be an approach that is sensible and logical. Spector: Do you have any particular priorities regarding some sort of permitting reform or grid interconnection reform? Any dream goals you'd want to work on in the next session? Carter: You know, I don't care what sector of our economy you're talking about, whether you're talking about health care, whether you're talking about communications technology, or whether you're talking about energy. When people and companies come into my office, it is always the same — permitting regulations, crushing us. And that's what we've got to address. I'll give you an example. I think this is relevant. As I said, I represent the city of Savannah. The Savannah Harbor expansion project, where we deepened our harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet in order to accommodate the bigger ships that are coming through — that project was finished in March of 2022. The permitting — this is true — the permitting for that project started in 1996. In that period of time, China has started and completed three new ports. The point I'm trying to make here: We can do a better job than this without endangering our environment, and we need to do a better job. It doesn't matter what part of our economy you're talking about, there are people coming to my office and saying permitting is killing us. Spector: Is there any other message you'd like to leave our crowd with here? You know, on the future of clean energy in America? Carter: Well, again, I'm proud of the state of Georgia. I'm proud of what we've done. We've been a pro-business state, and again, we've led in clean energy, nuclear energy, solar energy, all of it. I know some of y'all don't like biomass, but I happen to like it, and if you look at the entire cycle, I think you agree that biomass, too, is something we should be looking at. And as I mentioned before, we've got a lot of pine trees in Georgia, so biomass is really big too. Spector: Congressman, thank you for being here at Canary Live. Let's give him a show of appreciation. Thank you and have a great rest of your week.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Electrifying this affordable housing complex made financial sense
Canary Media's 'Electrified Life' column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals and building owners can do to shift to clean electric power. An affordable housing complex for older adults in Sacramento, California, boasts some enticing features. Residents of the earth-toned, low-rise structures can cultivate gardens, swim laps in the pool, and toss bocce balls. They can stroll to visit neighbors. And now, after an electric transformation of the buildings, Foothill Farms residents can also enjoy the cleaner air that comes with ditching gas appliances. The project not only slashes the complex's health-harming and planet-warming pollution — it also made financial sense for both the owner BRIDGE Housing and its tenants. Two years ago, the 138-unit property's original gas-fired equipment was nearing the end of its life. Coupled with available financial support, the timing gave executives of BRIDGE, a nonprofit affordable housing developer and manager, a chance to pivot away from fossil fuels. The 'smart, opportunistic' project at Foothill Farms illustrates how properties can electrify while keeping costs low for residents, according to a case study written earlier this year by staff at the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, a collaborative of 13 nonprofits, including BRIDGE. The retrofit is also a trailblazer for the decarbonization journey millions more units of government-supported affordable housing will eventually need to take. Although single-family housing is by far the most prevalent in the U.S., and the biggest source of carbon pollution from homes, cutting fossil fuels from multifamily affordable housing is a particularly tricky task. Some of the most vulnerable Americans live in subsidized apartments, including low-income households with older adults, disabled individuals, young families, and veterans — and they usually rent these units. Residents typically lack the power or cash to electrify properties, which presents a hurdle to eradicating emissions from buildings and denies inhabitants the upsides of these retrofits: greater comfort, safer air, and potential bill savings. 'There's an opportunity for delivering outsized benefits to [these] residents and communities,' said Lucas Toffoli, principal of the carbon-free buildings division at clean-energy think tank RMI. In 2023, BRIDGE Housing decided Foothill Farms would be a good candidate for energy-efficiency upgrades after Bright Power, an energy services provider, and Carbon Zero Buildings, a company specializing in decarbonization retrofits, analyzed BRIDGE's entire portfolio of properties. Carbon Zero carried out the electrifying changes: The turnkey contractor swapped out polluting gas-fueled water heaters for Rheem heat-pump water heaters and replaced ACs with Samsung heat pumps capable of both warming and cooling spaces. The firm also installed LED lighting everywhere, which consumes a tenth of the energy of incandescent light bulbs. Carbon Zero's team first piloted the complete retrofit in one unit to work out the kinks. With feedback from staff and residents, the crew honed its approach so that it could complete a unit's upgrades in a single day during business hours. 'I love that,' said Toffoli, who wasn't involved in the project. 'Displacing folks is not only expensive and burdensome ... it's a real disruption to people who may be juggling a lot of things, like work and family, or who have limited mobility or health problems.' In the common areas, Carbon Zero installed a new heat-pump pool heater and heat-pump spa heater, 30 EV charging stations, and 240-volt power outlets in the laundry rooms. Foothill Farms still has gas-powered clothes dryers, but BRIDGE plans to replace them with electric dryers when they conk out. Comparing 2023 average monthly energy usage data to 10 months of data after the in-unit retrofits were completed last spring, natural-gas use has decreased by 98% while electricity use has risen 24% across the whole property, thanks in large part to the almost-magical efficiency of heat pumps. Virtually all of the project's $2.6 million cost was covered by state and utility grants: California's Low-Income Weatherization Program, TECH Clean California, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Other projects, though, are by no means guaranteed to see so much aid, with funding limited and awards variable, said Sebastian Cohn, senior project manager at the nonprofit Association for Energy Affordability and BRIDGE's primary contact for the weatherization program incentive. 'It is typically in a property's best interest to enroll [in these incentive programs] sooner than later,' Cohn told Canary Media. 'The same project reserved today would receive less than half the [Sacramento Municipal Utility District] incentives Foothill Farms did due to updated incentive levels and per-project limits.' Unlike many landlords who don't pay tenants' utility bills, and thus don't benefit from energy-efficiency upgrades, BRIDGE actually had a financial incentive to make this switch to electric appliances: The organization pays for residents' gas usage but not their electricity bills. How then did the project prevent residents' costs from going up? Elementary, my dear reader. Federal rules for most subsidized affordable housing protect residents from high rent and utility costs — and make sure these expenses don't exceed 30% of their income — by requiring owners to provide what are called utility allowances, i.e., rent reductions to tenants paying their own utilities. The exact amounts are set by housing authorities and depend on locale, home size, and types of appliances. Based on the utility allowances for Sacramento when Carbon Zero pitched the project, the contractor estimated that residents would come out ahead, with each unit on average saving over $200 annually. The estimated savings for BRIDGE itself were $25,000 per year. The real-world results match the initial project modeling very well, Cohn said, though BRIDGE declined to share specific dollar savings. BRIDGE isn't planning to stop with this project; a spokesperson said it's already working with Carbon Zero and Bright Power on similar retrofits at a few other California properties.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Clean energy workforce training hub a ‘gamechanger' in this struggling factor town
Decatur, Illinois, has been losing factory jobs for years. A training program at a local community college promises renewal and provides training for students from disenfranchised communities This story is part of a collaboration between the Institute for Nonprofit News' Rural News Network and Canary Media, South Dakota News Watch, Cardinal News, The Mendocino Voice and The Maine Monitor, with support from Ascendium Education Group. It is reprinted with permission. DECATUR, IL. - A fistfight at a high school football game nearly defined Shawn Honorable's life. It was 1999 when he and a group of teen boys were expelled and faced criminal charges over the incident. The story of the "Decatur Seven" drew national headlines and protests led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who framed their harsh treatment as blatant racism. The governor eventually intervened, and the students were allowed to attend alternative schools. Honorable, now 41, was encouraged by support "from around the world," but he said the incident was traumatizing and he continued to struggle academically and socially. Over the years, he dabbled in illegal activity and was incarcerated, most recently after a 2017 conviction for accepting a large amount of marijuana sent through the mail. Today, Honorable is ready to start a new chapter, having graduated with honors last week from a clean energy workforce training program at Richland Community College, located in the Central Illinois city of Decatur. He would eventually like to own or manage a solar company, but he has more immediate plans to start a solar-powered mobile hot dog stand. He's already chosen the name: Buns on the Run. "By me going back to school and doing this, it shows my nephews and my little cousins and nieces that it is good to have education," Honorable said. "I know this is going to be the new way of life with solar panels. So I'll have a step up on everyone. When it comes, I will already be aware of what's going on with this clean energy thing." After decades of layoffs and factory closings, the community of Decatur is also looking to clean energy as a potential springboard. Located amid soybean fields a three-hour drive from Chicago, the city was long known for its Caterpillar, Firestone Tire, and massive corn-syrup factories. Industrial jobs have been in decline for decades, though, and high rates of gun violence, child poverty, unemployment, and incarceration were among the reasons the city was named a clean energy workforce hub funded under Illinois' 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Decatur's hub, based at Richland Community College, is arguably the most developed and successful of the dozen or so established statewide. That's thanks in part to TCCI Manufacturing, a local, family-owned factory that makes electric vehicle compressors. TCCI is expanding its operations with a state-of-the-art testing facility and an on-site campus where Richland students will take classes adjacent to the manufacturing floor. The electric truck company Rivian also has a factory 50 miles away. "The pieces are all coming together," Kara Demirjian, senior vice president of TCCI Manufacturing, said by email. "What makes this region unique is that it's not just about one company or one product line. It's about building an entire clean energy ecosystem. The future of EV manufacturing leadership won't just be on the coasts - it's being built right here in the Midwest." Related: Want to read more about how climate change is shaping education? Subscribe to our free newsletter. The Decatur CEJA program has also flourished because it was grafted onto a preexisting initiative, EnRich, that helps formerly incarcerated or otherwise disenfranchised people gain new skills and employment. The program is overseen by the Rev. Courtney Carson, a childhood friend of Honorable and another member of the Decatur Seven. "So many of us suffer significantly from our unmet needs, our unhealed traumas," said Carson, who was jailed as a young man for gun possession and later drag racing. With the help of mentors including Rev. Jackson and a college basketball coach, he parlayed his past into leadership, becoming associate pastor at a renowned church, leading a highway construction class at Richland, and in 2017 being elected to the same school board that had expelled him. Carson, now vice president of external relations at the community college, tapped his own experience to shape EnRich as a trauma-informed approach, with wraparound services to help students overcome barriers - from lack of childcare to PTSD to a criminal record. Carson has faith that students can overcome such challenges to build more promising futures, like Decatur itself has done. "We have all these new opportunities coming in, and there's a lot of excitement in the city," Carson said. "That's magnificent. So what has to happen is these individuals who suffered from closures, they have to be reminded that there is hope." Richland Community College's clean energy jobs training starts with an eight-week life skills course that has long been central to the larger EnRich program. The course uses a Circle of Courage practice inspired by Indigenous communities and helps students prepare to handle stressful workplace situations like being disrespected or even called a racial slur. "Being called the N-word, couldn't that make you want to fight somebody? But now you lose your job," said Carson. "We really dive deep into what's motivating their attitude and those traumas that have significantly impacted their body to make them respond to situations either the right way or the wrong way." The training addresses other dynamics that might be unfamiliar to some students - for example, some male students might not be prepared to be supervised by a woman, Carson noted, or others might not be comfortable with LGBTQ+ coworkers. James said that at first, he showed up late to every class. But soon the lessons sank in, and he was never late again. He always paid attention when people talked, and he gained new confidence. "As long as I put my mind to it, I can do it," said James, who would like to work as a home energy auditor. Richland partners with the energy utility Ameren to place trainees in such positions. "I like being out in the field, learning new stuff, dealing with homes, helping people," James said, noting he made energy-efficiency improvements to his own home after the course. Related: To fill 'education deserts,' more states want community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees Illinois' 2017 Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) launched the state's clean energy transition, baking in equity goals that prioritize opportunities for people who benefited least and were harmed most by the fossil fuel economy. It created programs to deploy solar arrays and provide job training in marginalized and environmental justice communities. FEJA's rollout was rocky. Funding for equity-focused solar installations went unspent while workforce programs struggled to recruit trainees and connect them with jobs. The pandemic didn't help. The follow-up legislation, CEJA, expanded workforce training programs and remedied snafus in the original law. Melissa Gombar is principal director of workforce development programs for Elevate, a Chicago-based national nonprofit organization that oversaw FEJA job training and subcontracts for a Chicago-area CEJA hub. Gombar said many community organizations tasked with running FEJA training programs were relatively small and grassroots, so they had to scramble to build new financial and human resources infrastructure. "They have to have certain policies in place for hiring and procurement. The influx of grant money might have doubled their budget," Gombar said. Meanwhile, the state employees tasked with helping the groups "are really talented and skilled, trying their best, but they're overburdened because of the large lift." CEJA, by contrast, tapped community colleges like Richland, which already had robust infrastructure and staffing. CEJA also funds community organizations to serve as "navigators," using the trust and credibility they've developed in communities to recruit trainees. Richland Community College received $2.6 million from April 2024 through June 2025, and the Community Foundation of Macon County, the hub's navigator, received $440,000 for the same time period. The other hubs similarly received between $1 million and $3.3 million for the past year, and state officials have said the same level of funding will be allocated for each of the next two years, according to the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. CEJA hubs also include social service providers that connect trainees with wraparound support; businesses like TCCI that offer jobs; and affiliated entrepreneur incubators that help people start their own clean energy businesses. CEJA also funded apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs with labor unions, which are often a prerequisite for employment in utility-scale solar and wind. "The sum of the parts is greater than the whole," said Drew Keiser, TCCI vice president of global human resources. "The navigator is saying, 'Hey, I've connected with this portion of the population that's been overlooked or underserved.' OK, once you get them trained, send their resumes to me, and I'll get them interviewed. We're seeing a real pipeline into careers." The hub partners go to great lengths to aid students - for example, coordinating and often paying for transportation, childcare, or even car repairs. "If you need some help, they always there for you," James said. Related: Losing faith: Rural, religious colleges are among the most endangered In 1984, TCCI began making vehicle compressors in a Decatur plant formerly used to build Sherman tanks during World War II. A few decades later, the company began producing compressors for electric vehicles, which are much more elaborate and sensitive than those for internal combustion engines. In August 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker joined TCCI President Richard Demirjian, the Decatur mayor, and college officials for the groundbreaking of an Electric Vehicle Innovation Hub, which will include a climatic research facility - basically a high-tech wind tunnel where companies and researchers from across the world can send EV chargers, batteries, compressors, and other components for testing in extreme temperatures, rain, and wind. A $21.3 million capital grant and a $2.2 million electric vehicle incentive from the state are funding the wind tunnel and the new facilities where Richland classes will be held. In 2022, Pritzker announced these investments as furthering the state goal of 1 million EVs on the road by 2030. Far from the gritty industrial environs that likely characterized Decatur workplaces of the past, the classrooms at TCCI feature colorful decor, comfortable armchairs, and bright, airy spaces adjacent to pristine high-tech manufacturing floors lined with machines. "This hub is a game changer," said Keiser, noting the need for trained tradespeople. "As a country, we place a lot of emphasis on kids going to college, and maybe we've kind of overlooked getting tangible skills in the hands of folks." A marketing firm founded by Kara Demirjian – Richard Demirjian's sister – and located on-site with TCCI also received clean energy hub funds to promote the training program. This has been crucial to the hub's success, according to Ariana Bennick, account executive at the firm, DCC Marketing. Its team has developed, tested, and deployed digital billboards, mailers, ads, Facebook events, and other approaches to attract trainees and business partners. "Being a part of something here in Decatur that's really leading the nation in this clean energy initiative is exciting," Bennick said. "It can be done here in the middle of the cornfields. We want to show people a framework that they can take and scale in other places." With graduation behind him, Honorable is planning the types of hot dogs and sausages he'll sell at Buns on the Run. He said Tamika Thomas, director of the CEJA program at Richland, has also encouraged him to consider teaching so he can share the clean energy skills he's learned with others. The world seems wide open with possibilities. "A little at a time - I'm going to focus on the tasks in front of me that I'm passionate about, and then see what's next," Honorable said. He invoked a favorite scene from the cartoon TV series "The Flintstones," in which the characters' leg power, rather than wheels and batteries, propelled vehicles: "Like Fred and Barney, I'll be up and running." The post Clean energy workforce training hub a 'gamechanger' in this struggling factor town appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
