Clean Energy News: July 2021
Flagstaff Mayor Deasy, Tó Nizhóní Ání and local leaders call for bold federal investment in clean transportation
Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy and community leaders urged Arizona’s elected leaders in Washington to support federal investments in clean transportation infrastructure in Flagstaff, the Navajo Nation and northern parts of Arizona. The press conference was sponsored by Moms Clean Air Force Arizona and is part of a series of grassroots events coordinated by the Climate Action Campaign. Speakers called for bold federal investments in clean transportation to support the expansion of electric buses and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Flagstaff and on the Navajo Nation. Read more >>
Swedish electric car company Polestar to open Scottsdale showroom
Volvo-owned electric car brand Polestar is partnering with Courtesy Chevrolet for the Swedish brand’s first Arizona retail outlet in Scottsdale’s Fashion Square mall. Phoenix-based Courtesy hopes to open the location in the September or October timeframe. The streamlined retail showroom model will be across from the Tesla electric vehicle retail outlet. Polestar vehicles can be delivered straight to your home, or picked up at any Courtesy Chevrolet location.
CNH Industrial and Nikola Motor Company join forces on electrifying partnership
Discover what happens when two of the world’s most innovative companies, CNH Industrial and Nikola Motors join forces to tackle a major challenge together. The ultimate goal of the partnership is to develop and produce a complete line-up of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks. Watch CNH Industrial’s “Behind the Wheel” to see how we are working together towards one goal — a zero-emissions future.
Salt River Project demolishes Navajo Generating Station power block
Decommissioning a power plant is no easy task. Large excavators operated by Salt River Project’s demolition contractor, Independence Excavating of Cleveland, Ohio, tear down the turbine block building at the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in LeChee, Ariz. Demolition of the power block began the week of June 15 with three consecutive days of explosions by explosive contractor Demtech of Saxonburg, Penn. The NGS site remediation period will continue through Dec. 22, 2054.
Meet the startups working to make Arizona an electric vehicle hub
Electric vehicles offer Phoenix a chance to define its technological prowess, to move into the top echelon of American tech hubs and pave the way in electrification. The opportunity is obvious — EVs account for less than 3% of new car sales in the U.S. in recent years, according to a recent Pew survey — but wrestling control away from traditional vehicle manufacturing hubs won’t be easy. Leading the way in this sector are Lucid Motors, Zero Electric Vehicles, battery manufacturer Li-Cycle, EV parts producer UACJ Whitehall, Mesa EV startup Atlis Motors, lithium-ion battery building startup EnPower, Tempe-based ZEV, and others. Read more >>
Singapore launches large-scale floating solar farm in Tengeh Reservoir
Singapore launched one of the world’s largest inland floating solar photovoltaic (PV) solar farms. Located at Tengeh Reservoir in Tuas, this comes just over four years after the launch of a successful testbed at the same location in 2016. Consisting of 122,000 solar panels spread across 10 solar-panel islands, the Tengeh solar farm covers an area about the size of 45 football fields. It has a capacity of 60 megawatt-peak (MWp) which is fed directly into the national grid. The installation of energy storage capacity is said to be an option for the future.
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Arizona climatologist reflects on teaching about drought and climate
As the debate in Arizona and elsewhere continues about how to address climate change and the effects of increasingly extreme heat and drought, one of the most visible faces on those issues is moving on. Nancy Selover has been Arizona’s state climatologist since 2007; she’s also been a research professor in Arizona State University’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. This spring, she retired from both posts, although she says she plans to keep paying attention to issues like drought and urban heat islands. KJZZ spoke with her to learn about this change and to reflect on her time in both jobs. Listen to the interview >>
By the numbers: Red Rock Solar Plant
Located on 400 acres in a remote region of Arizona about 30 miles south of Casa Grande, this project represents the largest Arizona Public Service solar plant to date with 2,286 single-axis trackers supporting 182,880 photovoltaic panels, generating 40 megawatts (MWac) of solar energy. The ASU Red Rock Solar Project is a collaboration between ASU and Arizona Public Service. APS agreed to construct and operate roughly 29 MWdc of solar energy generating capacity for ASU at its Red Rock site near Casa Grande, Arizona. In return, ASU agreed to purchase 65,000 megawatt hours of solar energy per year for 20 years. Read more >>
Driving forward for clean air, climate action in Phoenix
In this in-depth op-ed, Senator Rebecca Rios and Representative Reginald Bolding shed valuable insight regarding the extreme air pollution in South Phoenix. All Arizonans deserve to breathe clean air, and we need a plan to fight this pollution. While we will always fight for the public interest in the Arizona legislature, we also need our federal leaders to push for solutions that will clean up our air and address climate change on a national scale. By investing in clean and zero-pollution vehicles, we can do just that, while prioritizing the health of Arizonans.
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Senate votes to move forward with Sinema-led $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan
The U.S. Senate narrowly voted to move forward with a massive bipartisan infrastructure deal after co-negotiators Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Sen. Rob Portman broke through a weeks-long impasse on the $1.2 trillion package. The evenly divided 100-member Senate voted 67-32 to proceed with the package, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats to start considering the legislation a week after it failed to muster enough votes before Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. forced a vote. The legislation, if it becomes law, would make significant improvements to the nation’s roads, bridges, transit, water systems, power grids, broadband access, airports and other public infrastructure. Read more >>
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Talks Transit, Broadband Infrastructure For Arizona
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in Phoenix in early July to talk about infrastructure needs in Arizona. KJZZ spoke with him to learn what he sees as the biggest needs for the Phoenix metro area. Buttigieg also discussed Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s meeting with President Joe Biden July 27 to talk about the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package a bipartisan coalition in the Senate is working to get approved. The measure would include money for roads, bridges and broadband, but also issues like climate change. Listen to the interview replay >>