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The Midwest electric grid held up against a series of heat waves this past summer. But industry voices say as states such as Minnesota add more renewable energy, maintaining reliability and boosting transmission space is key. In the past decade, 81% of new electricity-generation capacity in Minnesota has come from sources such as wind and solar. .
After a down period during the pandemic, Minnesota has moved back into positive territory with annual clean-energy jobs data. The report from Clean Energy Economy Minnesota said the sector saw a 5% increase in job growth last year, with more than 2,600 workers added. Some of the biggest gains were in solar and advanced transportation, which includes manufacturing components for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. .
By Emily Pontecorvo for Grist.Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Washington News Service reporting for the Grist-Public News Service Collaboration Last year, a reader wrote in to Grist s advice column with a question: Why doesn t every roof have solar panels? A report released this week by the nonprofit Environment America and the research firm Frontier Group poses a followup question: At the very least, why doesn t every big box store have rooftop solar? The amount of space available on the rooftops of Walmarts, Targets, Home Depots, Costcos, and other large stores and shopping malls in the continental U.S. is staggering. Environment America estimates that it amounts to 7.2 billion square feet, or about the size of El Paso, Texas. .
Despite their climate pledges, many utilities aren t moving away from fossil fuels very quickly, according to a new report. The Sierra Club conducted a follow-up analysis to its 2021 report on the 50 utility companies most invested in coal and gas. It found that companies are doing a marginally better job moving toward clean energy. .