Clean energy news: October 2022
I-10 to become first electric corridor network of electric heavy-duty charging centers
Aligned Data Centers to expand Phoenix footprint with two mega campuses
Aligned continues to take advantage of Arizona’s tax incentives and low costs with new land acquisitions for a sustainable Phoenix mega campus. The Phoenix market is increasingly desirable for data center operators looking for a hub serving the West Coast. Arizona’s reliable power grid has access to renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The grid, coupled with low business and operating costs make Phoenix attractive. The state also has a much lower risk of natural disasters than some of its neighbors, such as California. Read more >>
Electric vehicle maker acquires large site in West Valley
Arizona-based vehicle maker Nikola Corp. quietly purchased nearly 1,000 acres in the Phoenix metro at the end of September for $16.5 million, according to Maricopa County records. Nikola (Nasdaq: NKLA) acquired the 920-acre site through Phoenix Hydrogen Hub LLC from Hardison Farms on Sept. 30, real estate database Vizzda shows. George Quinif of Peak Group LLC represented Nikola in the sale. The massive site is located in south Buckeye just west of State Route 85 near the Arizona Department of Corrections Lewis Prison, which is one of the largest prisons in the state and houses more than 4,400 inmates. Read more >>
Phoenix water hosting town halls focused on Colorado River shortage
As part of their effort to keep the public informed about how reduced allocations of Colorado River water are impacting the City of Phoenix, Phoenix Water experts will deliver a presentation at various locations in the weeks ahead. The speakers will focus on how the City manages its diverse and robust water supplies, decades of planning and forethought that have put the City in a strong position to handle this eventuality, new infrastructure investments, and other strategies in development to prepare for a drier climate. Read more >>
Nikola completes exchange offer to acquire Romeo Power common stock
Lucid says it’s on track for reduced production target after tripling Q3 output
After ramping up production of its luxury electric cars in the third quarter, Lucid Group Inc. said Wednesday it expects to hit its recently reduced full-year target. In the just-completed period, the California-based company made 2,282 vehicles at its Arizona factory in Pinal County, it said in an announcement. That was more that triple the number it produced in the second quarter, the company said. Read more >>
Atlis Motors says Australian company placed order for EV charging stations
Atlis Motor Vehicles, the Mesa-based electric vehicle maker, said Tuesday that it has received an order from Australia-based AUSEV for 270 of the company’s 1.5 MW charging stations. Atlis (Nasdaq: AMV) said in an announcement that the latest deal follows AUSEV’s original order of the company’s 19,000 XT electric pickup trucks that was signed in early August. Atlis has yet to produce any end-product versions of those trucks. Read more >>
Arizona’s clean energy future could swing on governor’s race
For a state with bountiful solar resources, Arizona’s path to a clean energy economy remains rocky as voters to prepare to choose their next governor. State regulators went back and forth on a possible mandate for 100 percent clean electricity before scrapping it earlier this year. Arizona no longer has a dedicated state energy office, even as the current Republican governor has worked to encourage manufacturing of renewables and batteries. Only about 16 percent of the state’s power generation came from renewable sources in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Read more >>
Don’t think of deserts as wastelands, researchers say, but as a key to our climate future
This story, like many, starts with rejection. Jose Gruenzweig grew up in the lush, green hills of Switzerland and studied the cold, wet forests of Alaska before settling into his current position as associate professor of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Israel’s climate is notably drier than those he’d lived in before, with scarce rainfall, mild winters, and hot, dry summers that produced one of the world’s hottest temperatures ever recorded at 129 degrees Fahrenheit. As a keen observer of ecosystems, he couldn’t help but ponder the differences. Read more >>
Low-income communities in Phoenix, other cities learn to tackle climate-fueled heat
Reggie Carrillo knows firsthand that where you live can determine how hot your neighborhood gets. The environmental activist and educator resides in a largely Mexican American area of south-central Phoenix, where segregation once forced Black and Hispanic people to live south of the railroad tracks. More than a half-century later, the historic lack of investment means fewer trees and subsequent temperatures 13 degrees higher than wealthier, leafier neighborhoods just a few miles away. Read more >>
Arizona ranks among national leaders in solar growth
Arizona ranks 5th in the nation for growth in solar power generation since 2012, according to a new online dashboard released today by Environment Arizona Research & Policy Center. The dashboard, Renewables on the Rise 2022, documents the growth of six key clean energy technologies across the United States over the past decade: solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations. Arizona has seen a 6-fold increase in solar power generation since 2012, putting it behind only California, Texas, Florida and North Carolina for solar growth. Read more >>
Lithion-ion battery recycler proposes Pinal County facility
Heritage Battery Recycling, an affiliate of Cirba Solutions, plans to construct a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Eloy. The Eloy facility will process lithium-ion end-of-life batteries and battery manufacturing scrap, with additional services including disassembly, sorting, warehousing, and diagnostic testing. The finished product will provide battery-grade salts for new cathode and battery manufacturing, such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium. Read more >>
Electric vehicle, semiconductor industries eager to build out Pinal County supply chain
Companies that have planted large manufacturing footprints in Pinal County are betting on the region to support further growth of their operations and related companies in their supply chains in the electric vehicle and semiconductor industries. Over the decades, Pinal County has become a manufacturing hub but still has plenty of land and room to grow. To support the big visions of technology giants Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Lucid Group Inc. and Nikola Corp., suppliers for both industries have been looking to cities south of Phoenix for new facilities that can supply jobs for thousands of workers. Read more >>
Atlis Motor Vehicles shares get a huge jolt on first day of Nasdaq trading
Atlis Motor Vehicles, a Mesa-based electric truck company, debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Tuesday, and its shares soared. Under ticker symbol “AMV,” the company’s shares opened at $27.50 and saw its trading halted five times as the price shot upward. Shares closed out at $82.12, a 198% gain for the day. The shares continued to climb in early after-market trading as high as $94. Click here to follow the stock. Read more >>
Arizona continues to attract solar development projects, more new jobs
The Valley has seen a significant increase in solar development in recent years with several new projects planned or proposed to support the growing number of homes in the region, land and real estate experts say. Vermaland, a Phoenix land banking and residential land company, said it currently has more than 10,000 acres under lease across 16 sites with several different power developers. Read more >>
Navajo Nation’s largest school district gets first electric buses
The Navajo Nation has now received the first of three electric buses to help its largest school district become more energy and fiscally efficient. “Chinle Unified School District is always a leader, so we like that, being first,” Chinle Unified School District Superintendent, Quincey Natay told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “I’ve talked to several districts across Indian Country about this exciting opportunity that my students are going to get to enjoy.” Chinle Unified School District is the largest school district in the Navajo Nation both in number of students and geographic area. Read more >>
New electric vehicle registrations grew more than 250% over the last five years
My View: Federal legislation energizes Arizona for a cleaner tomorrow