Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association

As Western NC continues to recover from Hurricane Helene, a nonprofit and a solar company have partered to provide solar-plus-battery microgrids and portable batteries to communities that still lack power. https://lnkd.in/eTzm_hGt

CCEBA sat down with Blair Kendall, a long-time solar developer based in Durham, North Carolina, who has made a transition to geothermal. In this first of two installments we discussed how new technology is changing a power source that dates back to the Roman Empire. Check it out! https://lnkd.in/ekGZfUX5

Though nuclear is carbon-free energy, many have concerns about dragging timelines and burgeoning budgets. A nuclear project in Georgia, for example, took 15 years to build, is facing costs that are twice its original budget, and contributed to its original contractors going bankrupt. https://lnkd.in/e7j4WAsU

Biden recently announced $612 million in Department of Energy projects that will improve the resilience of electric grids in areas impacted by hurricanes: https://lnkd.in/era4cJTr

We're all familiar with how hurricane winds can impact energy systems, but flood damage can be even more severe, long-lasting, and difficult to repair. This is largely because floods impact substations, which upon a single failure can impact thousands of customers. Utility planning must keep these hurricane ramifications in mind. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eQxmx8_B

Our member BrightNight just closed a $440 million deal with Goldman Sachs. This equity investment will help build out the company's solar portfolio, including a 810-megawatt "coal-to-solar" project in Kentucky. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eGQfyhcA

"A newly published study examining property values near dozens of large Midwest solar farms has found no significant negative impact — and even a slight positive effect — from the projects, according to the data...'From an economic perspective...locals should increasingly look at these data to understand the job opportunities, wages paid, new tax revenues and negligible or positive impacts on property values, and realize that large-scale solar projects might actually be an amenity in their community.'” https://lnkd.in/etbF6y4J

Solar and agriculture can be mutually beneficial -- check out remarks from NCSEA's Matt Abele at SolarFest to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eiTkHMie

We recently spoke with Randy Siegel, Co-founder and President of Heatmap News, about his organization’s purpose and innovative approach to advancing the energy transition. Check out the interview here: https://lnkd.in/eRSvA2mN

Agrivoltaics has proven benefits for farmers, solar developers, and their communities. "Agrivoltaics — the practice of sharing energy and food production on the same plot of land — can include a range of agricultural practices, such as farming, beekeeping, agroforestry, aquaculture and solar grazing." Many generational farming families are finding that they can revitalize struggling farmland with solar: https://lnkd.in/gqAb2TdM