** Florida imports a projected 30,000 power line workers from states as far as New Mexico, Arizona and California as electric utilities prepare for the approaching Hurricane Milton. ** Hurricane Helene pushes Tennessee officials to confront “outdated or incorrect” emergency plans and flooding data linked to 274 dams that are considered to have “high hazard potential” for downstream communities. ** …
Category: Wind Energy
Minnesota regulators order Next Era to remove pile of wind turbine blades
Four years after Next Era started piling old wind turbine blades in a lot in Grand Meadow, Minnesota, the pile is finally being removed. But it took the action of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to issue an order forcing Next Era to do something about the unsightly pile. In recent days, workers …
Invenergy takes Grain Belt Express fight to Illinois Supreme Court
Invenergy and supporters of its Grain Belt Express transmission line have gone to the Illinois State Supreme Court asking for a lower court ruling against the $7 billion project be overturned. Grain Belt is meant to carry wind-powered electricity from southwest Kansas and across Missouri and Illinois to Indiana. Supporters, including the Illinois Commerce …
Energy briefs
** With a death toll still at 230 or more, the effects of Hurricane Helene are still being discovered. Local, state and federal officials determine Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed 519 homes and 83 businesses in Virginia. ** October 8—National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day—is like a birthday party for hydrogen. It’s being observed by the U.S. Energy Department. ** …
Cimarron Link transmission line a renamed “Wind Catcher” line rejected 6 years ago?
The major electrical transmission line we reported last week that is eligible for more than $300 million in federal funding and will stretch 400 miles West to East across Oklahoma is something of a resurrection of a failed line proposed 6 years ago. The Cimarron Link, one of four major lines to get $1.5 …
Energy briefs
** Stellantis (STLA) reported another quarter of plunging sales as the company behind brands such as Jeep and Chrysler attempts to fix its so-called “disaster.” The automaker sold 305,294 vehicles in the U.S. between June and September, a 20% decline compared with a year earlier. That follows a second quarter marked by a similar 21% year-over-year decline. ** -Rivian Automotive has …
Government funds $306 million for 400-mile electrical transmission line across Oklahoma
A 400-mile high-voltage transmission line from one tip of Oklahoma to the other was among four projects receiving $1.5 billion this week from the U.S. Department of Energy, projects aimed at strengthening the nation’s electricity grid. Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered through DOE’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO), the projects selected for …
Energy briefs
** Hurricane Helene’s death toll rises to more than 200, making it the second deadliest U.S. hurricane in the last 50 years. Tennessee state authorities said Wednesday they are investigating the company that owns a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by cataclysmic flooding unleashed by Hurricane Helene. ** The Hualapai Nation continues to …
Energy briefs
** Berkshire Hathaway will take full ownership of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, after Warren Buffett’s conglomerate agreed to acquire the 8% it did not already own from the family of late billionaire philanthropist Walter Scott. ** Three environmental groups sue Montana regulators for approving an expansion of the Bull Mountain Mine that they say threatens water supplies …
Energy workforce study shows gradual workforce recovery
The Energy Workforce & Technology Council announced the release of the 2024 Workforce Report developed in collaboration with Accenture. The report provides a detailed analysis of the current state of employment within the energy services sector, focusing on job growth, workforce composition, and granular insights into diversity metrics. The 2024 Workforce Report offers a comprehensive overview of …