Clean energy news: May 2022
Li-Cycle opens lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Gilbert
APS names new president, splitting top leadership roles
Arizona Public Service Co. will have a new president effective May 16. APS parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. announced Thursday that Ted Geisler has been promoted to president of the electric utility. It is a move that separates the CEO and president roles within APS. Geisler, who began working at APS in 2001, has most recently served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for both Pinnacle West and APS. Andrew Cooper, current vice president and treasurer of APS, will move into Geisler’s former role. Read more >>
Nikola beats Q1 earnings estimates with surprise boost from trailer sales
Zero-emission vehicle maker Nikola Corp. reported first quarter financial results on Thursday that outpaced analyst expectations. Nikola earnings were bolstered by surprise sales of mobile charging trailers, an auxiliary line of business for the vehicle maker. Use of Nikola’s electric trucks requires permanent charging infrastructure that does not exist today so these charging units help increase adoption as the charging network develops, according to a March analyst presentation. Read more >>
Atlis Motor Vehicles to list on NASDAQ
Atlis Motor Vehicles (ATLIS), a mobility technology company, announced plans to submit an S-1 format Form 1-A and Nasdaq Global Market application in anticipation of a public listing on the stock market. The ticker symbol “AMV” has been reserved by ATLIS on Nasdaq. Upon public listing, anticipated to occur this summer, retail investors can trade shares of ATLIS on NASDAQ as the company develops technology to further encourage and enable the mass adoption of electric vehicles. ATLIS is developing an electric work truck, along with the batteries and motors to drive it. Read more >>
Phoenix businesses can receive loans to conserve water in their buildings
Commercial businesses in Phoenix can help conserve water by implementing cooling water treatment systems using a program that was recently approved by the city. Through the grant program, eligible companies will be able to incorporate cooling tower projects into their own buildings and campuses, which could help lower the amount of water needed to cool facilities. The city’s most recent Climate Action Plan said that cooling towers are one of the city’s highest volume water uses. Water used by cooling towers to remove heat can account for up to half of all water use in some commercial buildings in the Southwest, the 2021 plan said. Read more >>
Four Arizona energy providers and the state’s three public universities form a new coalition
Officials seek answers for ‘uncertain’ energy future
The future of the Valley’s energy is uncertain for the summers after this year, according to feedback from some of the state’s largest electricity providers. Supply chain issues, hot temperatures and drought conditions all could contribute to a less stable power supply in the Valley as officials seek answers to determine how to meet peak demand in the summers beyond of this year. “All companies stated that while they are well positioned to handle demand in 2022, the future beyond this summer is not as certain,” a press release from the Arizona Corporation Commission stated. Read more >>
Who is running for the Arizona Corporation Commission? These are the candidates on the ballot
Two seats are up for election on the Arizona Corporation Commission this year. The Corporation Commission is tasked with approving rates charged by utilities like Arizona Public Service Co. and Southwest Gas, ensuring the safety of railroads and pipelines, investigating the securities marketplace and receiving organizing documents for corporations in Arizona. Commissioners serve four-year terms and can serve two consecutive terms. The commission has five members elected statewide by voters. Read more >>
Colorado River water shortage caused by climate change will require Phoenix and Phoenicians to adapt
Extreme heat, rising demand: Arizona utilities warn of blackouts in summers ahead
A rapidly growing state, increasing numbers of days with extreme heat, supply-chain disruptions and shut-down power plants all threaten to cause blackouts in the Southwest in coming years. That’s the message Arizona Public Service Co., Tucson Electric Power and Salt River Project officials gave regulators this week during a meeting about the summer power supply. Utilities meet every spring with the Arizona Corporation Commission to discuss their plans to meet the energy demand in the summer ahead. None of the utilities sees unusual problems for summer 2022. Read more >>
Materials matter in combating climate change
Tackling climate action in the building industry starts with making conscious decisions about the materials with which we build. Today, the production, maintenance and disposal of the materials used in building construction are responsible for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This accounts for roughly a quarter of annual building sector emissions, a percentage which is growing. By sourcing materials and products from local, regional or domestic sources, we could make serious inroads toward cutting down on the carbon emissions associated with the built environment. Read more >>
Phoenix-based renewable energy company acquires Boston solar installer
Phoenix-based SinglePoint Inc., a company that focuses on renewable energy and energy storage, has acquired Massachusetts-based The Boston Solar Company LLC. This is the first of multiple acquisitions SinglePoint (OTCQB: SING) says it plans to close this year as it prepares to apply to uplist to the Nasdaq market. It also takes SinglePoint further toward its goal of building the nation’s leading solar services network, said Wil Ralston, SinglePoint’s CEO, who called the addition “a milestone” for his company. Read more >>
Mesa-based startup Halee Solar is coming to a rooftop near you
Tyler Lyman first got the idea to install rooftop solar tiles years ago when he was building a home in Arizona. He thought traditional rack-mount arrays were ugly, so he decided to fabricate his own tiles, with little success. “It didn’t work really at all, I wasn’t a very good engineer, I was much better on the software side than I was on the hardware side,” he said. “But it’s been something that I’ve had in the back of my mind for the last 16,17 years.” He deferred his dream of building sleek rooftop tiles while he ran other companies in South Africa and China before returning to his native Arizona and starting Mesa-based Halee at the end of 2019. Read more >>
Lucid has a deal to sell up to 100,000 electric vehicles.
Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. has struck a deal with Saudi Arabia for the purchase of up to 100,000 vehicles over 10 years. Under the deal, the Saudi government committed to buy 50,000 vehicles with an option to buy 50,000 more during the same period from the Newark, California-based company. The first deliveries are required to begin no later than the second quarter of 2023. The vehicles include the Lucid Air which is currently under production at Lucid’s manufacturing plant in Casa Grande in Pinal County south of Phoenix. The Saudi government will also buy other future models that will be assembled in Arizona and at a future manufacturing facility that will be built in Saudi Arabia. Read more >>