Latest news with #EPA-approved
Politico
07-08-2025
- Business
- Politico
How California missed its chance to protect solar funding from Trump
With no official EPA announcement on the Solar for All funding out yet, the CPUC is taking a diplomatic stance. 'The CPUC is actively implementing Solar for All under a stakeholder-driven, EPA-approved workplan,' said agency spokesperson Terrie Prosper. California has about 217 megawatts of capacity of community solar installed or in the pipeline — far less than leading states like Florida (3,873 MW) or New York (2,110 MW). And while other states also haven't spent all their Solar for All awards, some are much further along than California. Illinois, for example, has spent $11 million of its $156 million, according to U.S. spending data analyzed by the firm Atlas Public Policy. California has spent $100,641, according to Atlas' figures. 'California, rather than being a leader in this clean energy aspect, has been a laggard,' said Derek Chernow, western regional director of the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a group of solar developers. California officials have defended the state against other federal provocations on renewable energy, including by suing over lost EV charging funding, proposing a plan to replace lost EV tax credits with state dollars, and weighing fast-tracked permits for renewable energy projects cut off from federal incentives. It's unclear whether the state wants to go to bat for community solar. Asked whether California would sue once the Trump administration terminates the grants, a spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta said the office does not comment on legal strategy. But the episode illustrates how California's window of opportunity is narrowing to get renewable energy projects reliant on federal funding off the ground before the Trump administration quashes them. A bill sponsored by the community solar industry that would have had CPUC redo the tariff and speed up the program failed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in May. Assemblymember Chris Ward, the author of AB 1260, said he hopes to bring it back next year. 'I've always said that a successful program shouldn't rely on one-time federal funding to survive,' Ward said in a statement. Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO's California Climate newsletter.
Politico
07-08-2025
- Business
- Politico
The California solar initiative that never was
With help from Alex Nieves THROWING SHADE: The Trump administration wants to cancel community solar. In California, the technology never even got off the ground. Almost none of the $250 million that California received from the Inflation Reduction Act's Solar for All program, which the Trump administration is making plans to terminate as soon as this week, has made it out the door yet. Solar companies fear they're on the cusp of losing their best shot at setting up a thriving program in the state for so-called community solar. The dream is to give renters and electricity customers who can't afford to put panels on their rooftops the chance to draw from nearby mid-sized solar installations. But it hasn't gone far in California. 'It's really tragic,' said Joe Henri, senior vice president of policy at community solar developer Dimension Energy. 'California's very elaborate plans are really in jeopardy.' Advocates like Henri aren't just blaming the feds, though. Rather, they're placing a big share of the responsibility at the feet of the California Public Utilities Commission. The EPA announced in April 2024 that it was giving the state a $250 million award. To date, the CPUC, which is responsible for the grant, has distributed next to nothing. The agency set up a tariff structure for community solar programs in May 2024, and said it would use the Solar for All funding to augment the payments, which advocates said would be too stingy to incentivize projects. But that wasn't the end. In that decision, the agency asked utilities and community choice aggregators to file a slew of additional advisory paperwork. The back and forth between the CPUC and interest groups continued on from there. In April 2025, a year after the original EPA award announcement, Administrative Law Judge Valerie Kao put out a notice asking interest groups for more feedback, including how to prudently spend the Solar for All funding before its use-it-or-lose-it deadline of April 2029. State agencies remain in an 'administrative and planning phase,' according to the CPUC website. 'The PUC's slow-walking of this process has likely squandered $250 million in federal support,' said Matthew Freedman, a staff attorney with The Utility Reform Network. 'As of today, we have no program, no development, federal tax credits that are about to sunset, and now an announcement that Solar for All funding is going to be pulled by the Trump administration.' With no official EPA announcement on the Solar for All funding out yet, the CPUC is taking a diplomatic stance. 'The CPUC is actively implementing Solar for All under a stakeholder-driven, EPA-approved workplan,' said agency spokesperson Terrie Prosper. California has about 217 MW of capacity of community solar installed or in the pipeline — far less than leading states like Florida (3,873 MW) or New York (2,110 MW). And while other states also haven't spent all their Solar for All awards, some are much further along than California. Illinois, for example, has spent $11 million of its $156 million, according to U.S. spending data analyzed by the firm Atlas Public Policy. California has spent $100,641, according to Atlas' figures. 'California, rather than being a leader in this clean energy aspect, has been a laggard,' said Derek Chernow, western regional director of the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a group of solar developers. California officials have defended the state against other federal provocations on renewable energy, including by suing over lost EV charging funding, proposing a plan to replace lost EV tax credits with state dollars, and weighing fast-tracked permits for renewable energy projects cut off from federal incentives. It's unclear whether the state wants to go to bat for community solar. Asked whether California would sue once the Trump administration terminates the grants, a spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta said the office does not comment on legal strategy. But the episode illustrates how California's window of opportunity is narrowing to get renewable energy projects reliant on federal funding off the ground before the Trump administration quashes them. A bill sponsored by the community solar industry that would have had CPUC redo the tariff and speed up the program failed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in May. Assemblymember Chris Ward, the author of AB 1260, said he hopes to bring it back next year. 'I've always said that a successful program shouldn't rely on one-time federal funding to survive,' Ward said in a statement. — NB, CvK Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! THE DELTA SHADOW: No, Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn't forgotten about his Delta tunnel request. On Wednesday, he reiterated his May proposal to fast-track a controversial tunnel routing more water to farms and cities, making sure the idea stays in the mix as lawmakers gear up to return to Sacramento to consider other big-ticket demands on cap-and-trade, refineries and electric utilities. To sweeten the deal, he paired the revived demand with a list of commitments to incorporate feedback from Delta communities in the tunnel's permitting and construction, including the creation of an ombudsman office and $200 million in community benefits. Delta-region lawmakers who successfully rejected Newsom's bid to tie the proposal to the budget in June are raring for another fight. Sen. Jerry McNerney and Assemblymember Lori Wilson quickly put out a statement saying 'no amount of money can compensate' for the tunnel's construction impacts on communities and urging instead to fortify the region's levees and invest in water recycling and groundwater storage. But compared to when the Delta-region lawmakers successfully beat back a streamlining proposal in 2023, they're facing a more eager coalition on the other side: A bipartisan group of state lawmakers, including Democrats from the Los Angeles region, which would get the water from the tunnel, and construction unions and business and water groups have already come out in support. — CvK ELECTRIC SAVINGS: Single-family homes stand to save the most on electrification upgrades in Los Angeles, according to a new UCLA report published Wednesday. The analysis uses a modeling tool the UCLA researchers developed for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as part of its effort to rid its grid of carbon emissions by 2035. It determined annual savings of $145 to $1,074 in 2025 for single-family households that electrified their heating and air conditioning, and savings of $70 to $303 for units in multifamily buildings. The only scenario that cost more than it saved: low-efficiency heat pumps for multifamily buildings. The report comes out, the researchers pointed out, as the Los Angeles city council considers repealing its requirement that buildings be all-electric in light of a court striking down the city of Berkeley's gas ban. — CvK NO TAKEBACKS: A federal judge isn't buying the Trump administration's argument that it didn't really cancel a FEMA grant program, despite announcing that it had pulled the plug. Judge Richard Stearns, of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, ordered FEMA to hold on to $4.1 billion in funds for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program — which funds local disaster-protection projects — while he determines whether the cancellation was legal, Thomas Frank reports for POLITICO's E&E News. California has historically been the biggest grant recipient through the program, which launched in 2020. The state had received nearly a quarter of all BRIC funding — $930 million — through 2023, despite representing roughly 12 percent of the national population. Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 19 other AGs in a lawsuit last month challenging the program cancellation, noting that California could receive more than $1 billion in new grants. — AN SETTING THE AGENDA: On Wednesday, Aug. 27, POLITICO is hosting its inaugural California policy summit: The California Agenda. Come see the Golden State's most prominent political figures — including Sen. Alex Padilla and gubernatorial candidates Katie Porter and Xavier Becerra — share the stage with influential voices in tech, energy, housing and other areas at the forefront of the state's most critical policy debates. The live and streamed event is free, but advance registration is required. Stay tuned for more on speakers and discussion topics, and request an invite here. DOE TO PG&E: Pacific Gas & Electric Company has hired Dwayne Bolton, a former Trump administration staffer during the president's first term, to lobby on federal funding issues, according to a disclosure filing. Bolton, who joined Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm Mountain View Partners in January, began lobbying for PG&E in June at the height of negotiations over the phaseout of clean energy tax credits in Republicans' megabill, POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko reports. He previously served as a congressional liaison in President Donald Trump's Department of Energy and worked in the department's Office of Economic Impact and Diversity and Office of Environmental Management. — The National Weather Service has received permission to fill hundreds of roles previously cut by DOGE. — Global insured losses from natural disasters reached $80 billion during the first half of the year, and half of that is connected to the Los Angeles fires. — Scientists say they have more proof that California's longer wildfire season is linked to climate change.
Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County reports first case of West Nile virus
Lake County has reported its first human case of the year of neuroinvasive West Nile virus, with a resident in their 70s becoming ill earlier this month. An update on the victim's condition was not released. This is the second case of the virus in Illinois reported this year. Last year saw 69 cases across the state, including six in Lake County, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center Executive Director Chris Hoff advised caution for residents spending more time outdoors during the summer, exposing themselves to mosquitoes, which can carry the virus. 'Remember to take steps to protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes to reduce your risk of getting West Nile virus,' Hoff said. According to a county release, nine of 214 batches of mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile virus in 2025. West Nile virus typically peaks during the late summer, usually from July through September when the mosquito population is at its peak, the release said. The department gave '4 Ds of Defense' for protecting against mosquitoes — drain, defend, dawn to dusk and dress. These include draining any standing water, using EPA-approved insect repellents, using proper protection during prime mosquito activity hours and wearing clothes that cover exposed skin. According to the release, most people infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms, but some become ill three to 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. In rare cases, the virus can affect the brain or spinal cord, leading to 'serious neurological symptoms' such as stiff neck, confusion, sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, trouble walking or even death. Those over 60 and individuals with weakened immune systems or multiple medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile virus.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lake Contrary weed treatment begins
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — After a 24-hour delay, a Buchanan County contractor was able to take on the task of spraying weeds at Lake Contrary. A helicopter pilot sprayed Clearcast Aquatic Herbicide, an EPA-approved product, on more than 300 acres of land. High winds delayed the two-day project that was supposed to start on Monday and turned it into a one-day job on Tuesday. I believe that he wanted a drone photo of it sometime last week just to kind of see where the green was and all that stuff because there are certain areas where certain types of vegetation need a little bit more (Clearcast)," Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson said. A product overview on its website says the growth of sensitive plants will stop 24 hours after application. Nelson estimates that it will be six weeks before the aquatic herbicide kills the vegetation. "I think this takes a little while for it just because it's got to get absorbed, and then it's got to move down the root stem to the root ball, and then it starts to work on the root ball," he said. "I'm assuming that we're going to see the color changes and that sort of thing." The Missouri Office of Administration told the Buchanan County commissioners last October that taking care of the lake was their responsibility once it dried up. Nelson said removing the weeds is primarily to remove fire hazards. "This is the first step since we've been mandated by the state to maintain it," Nelson said. "So this is what we're doing to maintain it." Buchanan County received a permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Friday to allow weed spraying, but the county still has not received a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the lake. "Other things have kind of crept up and overtaken it on the to-do list," Nelson said. "The big one being the (juvenile) detention center." Nelson said the weed spraying on Tuesday is the largest effort to remove vegetation at Lake Contrary that he can think of. Now, the county commission will observe the results over the next couple of months. "This is 300 acres that we want to get beat down and basically see how it does and then how long it lasts, Nelson said.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lake Contrary weed treatment begins
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — After a 24-hour delay, a Buchanan County contractor was able to take on the task of spraying weeds at Lake Contrary. A helicopter pilot sprayed Clearcast Aquatic Herbicide, an EPA-approved product, on more than 300 acres of land. High winds delayed the two-day project that was supposed to start on Monday and turned it into a one-day job on Tuesday. I believe that he wanted a drone photo of it sometime last week just to kind of see where the green was and all that stuff because there are certain areas where certain types of vegetation need a little bit more (Clearcast)," Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson said. A product overview on its website says the growth of sensitive plants will stop 24 hours after application. Nelson estimates that it will be six weeks before the aquatic herbicide kills the vegetation. "I think this takes a little while for it just because it's got to get absorbed, and then it's got to move down the root stem to the root ball, and then it starts to work on the root ball," he said. "I'm assuming that we're going to see the color changes and that sort of thing." The Missouri Office of Administration told the Buchanan County commissioners last October that taking care of the lake was their responsibility once it dried up. Nelson said removing the weeds is primarily to remove fire hazards. "This is the first step since we've been mandated by the state to maintain it," Nelson said. "So this is what we're doing to maintain it." Buchanan County received a permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Friday to allow weed spraying, but the county still has not received a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the lake. "Other things have kind of crept up and overtaken it on the to-do list," Nelson said. "The big one being the (juvenile) detention center." Nelson said the weed spraying on Tuesday is the largest effort to remove vegetation at Lake Contrary that he can think of. Now, the county commission will observe the results over the next couple of months. "This is 300 acres that we want to get beat down and basically see how it does and then how long it lasts, Nelson said.
