1. Mississippi just got its first utility-scale wind farm

Learning: Mississippi "officially marked the opening of its first utility-scale wind farm, which began producing clean electricity last month."

Implication: "AES Corp. owns and operates the 184-megawatt Delta wind project in Tunica County, which is nestled in Mississippi’s northwestern corner near the borders with Arkansas and Tennessee. Tech giant Amazon is purchasing power from the 41-turbine facility to support its growing data center operations and logistics hubs in the region."

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2. Houston-area energy tech startup takes first place in DOE competition

Learning: "Four startups from across the country won over $160,000 in cash prizes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions earlier this month, and a Houston-area company claimed the top prize.

Hertha Metals, based in Conroe, won first place at the 2024 Summer Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Startup Pitch Competition. The program honors and supports clean energy innovators nominated by clean technology business incubators."

Implication: "Focused on environmentally responsible steel, Hertha Metals won the $100,000 prize. The company's steelmaking process reduces emissions by 95 percent, per the news release, while remaining financially accessible. Hertha Metals was nominated by Greentown Labs, which won $25,000 for its nomination."

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3. Greater New Orleans Foundation, Together New Orleans Celebrates Near-Completion of 11th Community Lighthouse in New Orleans

Learning: "At the start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, grassroots organization, Together New Orleans, celebrated the near completion of the 11th Community Lighthouse in New Orleans at Christian Unity Baptist Church on June 10."

Implication: "At the end of 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $250 million federal investment that will further leverage the Foundation’s investment and support a major expansion of Community Lighthouses in Louisiana, positioning our state as a national leader in the development of local resilience hubs."

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4. Toyota explores V2G with Pepco

Learning: "Toyota Motor North America and Washington, D.C.-based Pepco are collaborating on vehicle-to-grid technology that will allow electric vehicle owners to charge their car batteries and send power back to the electric grid."

Implication: "The project will examine how drivers interact with their EVs and could eventually lead to the widespread rollout of V2G technology to reduce peak loads and balance demand."

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5. Duke Energy wants to help Big Tech buy the 24/7 clean energy it needs

Learning: "Amazon, Google, and Microsoft — all of which have goals to power their operations with clean electricity — have acknowledged that simply buying wind and solar credits isn’t enough. Amazon wants to invest in clean energy projects that maximize emissions reductions. Google and Microsoft have said that, to authentically decarbonize their operations, they need to source enough clean energy to make it through every day and night."

Implication: "Essentially, willing corporations could bankroll Duke’s construction of advanced clean energy technologies to deliver on their advanced climate or 24/7 commitments...

The proposal includes a ​'comprehensive' suite of new tariffs that would pay for the different building blocks required to get to 24/7 clean energy, Huber said. That means tariffs for on-site generation at customer facilities, for buying power from dedicated renewables and battery storage projects, and a Clean Transition Tariff that would pay for emerging technologies that bridge the gap to round-the-clock carbon-free energy...

Duke would work with each customer to determine their desired outcome and what needs to be built, and how soon, to make it happen."