Advocates say community solar is in line with the conservative principles of free markets and individual property rights — and a recent survey out of deep-red Texas seems to agree. The poll, commissioned by Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, found more than 90% support protecting property owners’ rights to produce electricity on their land, including with wind turbines or solar panels, and say they should be allowed to lease their land out for power generation too.
Could Spain’s massive blackouts happen in the U.S.?
Spain and Portugal suffered one of Europe’s worst power outages ever on Monday. About 55 million people lost power, sidelining hospitals, disrupting cell signals, and halting digital payments. The massive outage on a usually stable grid stirred up accusations — including from U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright — that renewable power was to blame.
Spain’s grid operator hasn’t yet disclosed what caused the outages, but the country’s environmental minister said Wednesday that renewables weren’t responsible. Nearly 55% of Spain’s electricity on Monday came from solar, with another 10% each from wind, nuclear, and hydropower — a similar mix to what’s powered the country’s grid in the past, without problems. Still, experts say the outages highlight stability challenges that renewables can pose during power disruptions, and show that grid operators need to implement new technologies to better manage increasing amounts of wind and solar.
Clean energy news to know this week
Tesla turmoil: Elon Musk and Tesla’s board chair deny a report suggesting the EV maker is seeking a new CEO amid Musk’s increasing political activity and the company’s sinking finances. (Axios, Wall Street Journal)
Gutting grants: The U.S. EPA indicates in a court filing that it intends to cancel 781 grants issued under the Biden administration, most of them tied to environmental justice, and has already notified about half of those recipients of the looming cuts. (Washington Post)
100 days of climate demolition: President Donald Trump has signed 20 climate-related executive orders in his first 100 days in office, and his term has so far been marked by stock market uncertainty, clean-manufacturing project cancellations, and tariffs that are set to hurt the fossil-fuel industry. (Heatmap)
Burgum’s energy pivot: Now largely focused on oil and gas development, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has taken a sharp turn since supporting an “all of the above” energy strategy that included clean energy while serving as North Dakota’s governor. (E&E News)
A second life for coal plants: Former coal-fired power plants are becoming in-demand properties as developers look to re-use the facilities’ existing power lines for gas-fired power plants, battery storage sites, or offshore wind connections. (Associated Press)
First Solar’s fortunes fall: American manufacturer First Solar, which saw a stock bump in the wake of Trump’s tariffs, has since reported lower-than-expected first quarter earnings and reduced its expected revenue and profit for the rest of the year. (Heatmap)
EV education at risk: Programs that train students to work in EV manufacturing, which arose to supply the growing industry with workers, could peter out amid the Trump administration’s continued attacks on the sector. (Hechinger Report)
