Sally Librera’s Post

In 2023, there were 20 announced projects, representing $2.51 billion in capital investment within electric cooperative-served territory. This milestone underscores the combined mission of the South Carolina Power Team and the state's electric cooperatives' commitment to fostering growth and innovation in the region. If you're interested in learning more about the strategic initiatives and impactful projects that have contributed to the economic development of the communities we serve, click the link to read our 2023 Annual Report: https://lnkd.in/ei6Cwy_i

This is awesome, congrats to Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes in her new role. Great to see the US proactively positioning, planning and investing. Critical minerals and metals will play more into the energy transition discussion this year than ever before, and will create new superpowers – companies and businesses. Who will embrace the opportunity, adapt or be disrupted? We are already seeing some interesting moves being made with ExxonMobil investing in a lithium mine in the US and Chile nationalizing its lithium industry, just in the last month or so. Competition for these resources will reshape trade, markets, politics and even borders, and will play a role in global elections – of which 70 countries have elections in 2024! We are committed to supporting the #miningindustry to power their facilities with reliable, affordable and clean energy for more profitable and sustainable outcomes. By doing this we will create a thriving energy future. VECKTA

I can’t wait until Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are up and running all over the nation! Investing to power a home with rooftop solar (or any clean energy generation technology) + battery storage turns a dreaded monthly energy bill into an asset you can monetize - just like utilities do, but on a smaller scale. This is the FUTURE of home decarbonization; not only because of the undeniable economics, but also for energy resilience and independence. Once the residential rooftop solar industry moves away from outrageous dealer fees and hidden broker/salesman commissions, and moves toward a vertically integrated model that empowers homeowners to purchase/invest in energy retrofits by providing credible, transparent, and affordable pricing (yes - these projects can and will be done for much cheaper once unnecessary intermediaries and soft costs are removed from the equation, mainly via software), I beleive it will be a very difficult value proposition for most eligible homeowners to resist. I absolutely love the concept that was proved out in California following similar success of pilots in places like Japan. This is a game changer for enabling higher adoption rates and accelerating updates to net metering agreements and financial incentives across the country. I highly recommend reading this article for a more in depth look at the not-so-distant future…

~2 weeks ago, we (Pearl Edison) shared takeaways from the Detroit-based Home Energy Rebate pilot program. Since then, Jake Yurek and I have had the privilege of connecting state and city leaders from all over the country. The most common theme from these discussions has been how to define a "qualified contractor" - and really, how to balance "going fast" (because the climate crisis demands urgency) and "getting it right" (to avoid increasing energy burden, in particular for low-income homeowners). This is a false choice long-term, but a very real tradeoff short-term. We wrote up our thoughts on the role that states and cities can play in: (1) Growing the qualified contractor base, via targeted training / upskilling (2) Giving qualified contractors leverage to increase “throughput” (completed jobs per technician), by reducing soft cost / waste-work (3) Reducing qualified contractor “churn” / failure rate, by sending enough work to qualified contractors to keep them profitable You can find the full writeup at the link in the comments. If you are thinking this through, reach out! We're supporting utilities, state energy offices, cities, lenders, community organizations and more.

We just released the 2023 annual review and Q4 update of "The 50 States of Solar." In 2023, 47 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico took action, with Maine, California, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Connecticut leading the way. A total of 273 policy and rate changes were proposed, pending, or decided. See what all the action was about at https://lnkd.in/gdiZvvrQ

Tomorrow is the launch of the Boston Community Solar Cooperative! It is not to late to register for attendance. https://bit.ly/BCSC2024. As we say goodbye to Black History Month, a study this week published by the National Association of Realtors reported that the income gap between white and black family increase from $21,540 in 2012 to $27,840 in 2022. When it comes to the racial wealth gap we are unfortunately going in the wrong direction. Community ownership of solar systems offers families the opportunity to own a fractional interest in asset that generates income every day the sun shines. Come support the movement for community ownership of the new solar systems we need to decarbonize buildings, transportation and power generation.

🎉The 2023 VMEC Impact Report is here!🎉 As Vermont’s only singularly-focused resource for manufacturers and the local affiliate of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) network, VMEC is uniquely positioned to deliver measurable impact from state and federal investments.  We are mission-driven to strengthen and empower Vermont manufacturers. Our reach is nearly unlimited in our ability to leverage local, statewide, regional and national resources to benefit Vermont organizations. We partner with industry, education, government and beyond to maximize results. In the report: ✔️Job creation and retention ✔️Wages and benefits ✔️Client investment ✔️Increased and retained sales These are just a few of the highlights that stand out from our measured outcomes and impacts to the Green Mountain State! ✅Read the latest client-reported results here: https://lnkd.in/gUJgmv6X ❤️Many thanks to Generator Makerspace, Mamava and AllEarth Renewables, Inc. for providing client profiles and/ or images for our annual report!

Today I'm at the The University of Manchester's research centre where scientists are looking into ways to develop the next generation of low carbon energy for the United Kingdom, helping to secure our energy supply while also helping us create a greener future so that we can reach our net zero objectives. Years of world-leading green investment in the UK has created a substantial need for grid expansion to meet the surge in demand for renewable energy. That's why in the Autumn Statement I announced a number of measures to boost this form of energy production in the years ahead including introducing plans through the Connections Actions Plan to halve the end to end build time of electricity transmission infrastructure from 14 to 7 years – a major leap forward in speeding up how green electricity can be distributed to all corners of our nation. This measure sits alongside others such as raising entry requirements for projects applying for transmission connections; better utilising the networks' capacity; and improving how data is used to assess the performance of the grid. Taken together these changes not only enhance our green energy capabilities but also create new job opportunities and foster innovation in the energy sector. This will help to boost energy production and transmission across the UK in the years ahead. And for the first time we will also reward communities and households who help us make our energy vision become a reality, with those living nearest to new electricity infrastructure eligible for a £1,000 a year cut to their energy bills. Over a decade this is a saving of £10,000, a significant contribution towards household financial stability during these challenging economic times.  This is all part of our pragmatic approach to achieve our net zero goals while also improving our energy security and lowering energy prices. This is a Government fixed on the long-term decisions required to strengthen our economy and give people the opportunity to build a wealthier, more secure life for themselves and their family. Our commitment to transforming the UK’s energy sector shows us putting those words into action.

🔌 Celebrating the Completion of the Electric Power Systems Course! an online non-credit course authorized by the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, and offered through Coursera, This course familiarizes you with standards and policies of the electric utility industry, looks at Smart Grid, Smart Grid Risks, Smart Grid & the Environment and Renewable Energy. I’m excited to apply my newfound knowledge to real-world challenges.

Throughout this July's relentless heat waves, Leap's virtual power plants rose to the challenge to provide crucial relief to strained electric grids. Read more in Latitude Media: #heatwave #gridstability #virtualpowerplants #vpps