As SACE’s Digital Communications Manager, one of my favorite things to do every week is search for four positive stories about clean energy across the Southeast. Maybe it’s a team of Florida college students learning to build and race EVs. Maybe it’s Georgia’s latest animal shelter going solar. Or maybe it’s the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians bringing the first electric school bus to North Carolina. No matter the story, each one is a little reminder of the incredible clean energy progress that is happening (and will continue to happen) across our region and the U.S.
Like so many of you, our staff and our families call the Southeast home. It is where we live, work, and play, from Florida to Georgia to North Carolina to South Carolina to Tennessee. And there’s no denying it — between the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, the destruction caused by Hurricane Milton, a contentious election season, and more, it’s been a tough autumn for our region. I myself live in Asheville, North Carolina, where I unexpectedly found my hometown in the middle of a climate disaster. No matter which way you look at it, it’s certainly true: we’re not in Kansas anymore.
But amidst all the stories of loss, there have also been stories of resilience — stories of neighbors and nonprofits stepping up to help their communities in times of need. From solar-powered churches providing life-saving electricity to electric vehicles keeping a veterinary clinic running to Florida residents throwing pizza parties for lineworkers, we’ve picked just a few of our favorite stories of neighbors helping neighbors, communities coming together, and clean energy providing much-needed hope.
Left photo of solar-powered First Grace United Methodist Church courtesy of AP Photo/Matthew Hinton; middle photo of an EV plugged into Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic courtesy of InsideEVs
Climate solution: In the swelter of hurricane blackouts, some churches stay cool on clean power
As Hurricane Helene approached the U.S. Gulf Coast, New Orleans couple Verna Lee and Ronald Bailey, both 71, worried how long the batteries would last on the breathing machine Ronald relies on at night. Then they remembered their solar-powered neighborhood church still had power. There, they were able to charge the breathing machine and go back to sleep in their own home. The church is part of the Community Lighthouse Project, founded to provide essentials to community members facing blackouts using solar. Read more.
Her vet clinic went down in Hurricane Helene. Two EVs powered it back up
“Because we’re a vet clinic, we have to be available for emergencies.” When Dr. Erica Lacher’s veterinary clinic—which provides round-the-clock emergency care near Gainesville, Florida—lost power, she knew she needed a solution. So she plugged in her two EVs, a Ford F-150 Lightning and a Kia EV9. Thanks to the cars’ bidirectional charging, the power was back on in minutes, allowing her and her team to perform emergency care on cats, dogs, and even two horses. “It definitely saved lives.” Read more.
Solar companies unite in Helene disaster relief in North Carolina
Greentech Renewables Raleigh, Footprint Project, Land of Sky Regional Council of Governments, and the NC Sustainable Energy Association are partnering to support disaster relief in Western North Carolina, recently devastated by the impacts of Hurricane Helene. Together these organizations have set up microgrids and solar-powered generators so that areas without power can charge cell phones, power medical and mobility devices, and use WiFi. Read more.
Left photo of lineworkers enjoying a pizza party courtesy of LkldNow/Kimberly C. Moore; middle photo of The Footprint Project at work in Bakersville courtesy of AP Photo/Gabriela Aoun Angueria; right photo of an EV courtesy of driveelectric.gov/Jason Smith
Lakelanders show gratitude as effort to restore power winds down
Residents all over Lakeland, Florida thanked lineworkers who restored their service after Hurricane Milton knocked it out. Residents of Camphor Heights shared their carport fish fry with utility workers from Alabama, while residents of northwest Lakeland threw a pizza party for a crew from Wisconsin. These crews were among 500 additional lineworkers who were in Lakeland in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, helping to restore power to the more than 86,000 people who lost it during the storm. Read more.
Volunteers bring solar power to Hurricane Helene’s disaster zone
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Bobby Renfro set up a community resource hub near Bakersville, North Carolina. But he had a power problem. The loud gas-powered generator, which cost him $1,200, made it hard to hear the nurses, neighbors, and volunteers. Then came the Footprint Project, a nonprofit that provides solar energy to communities in crisis. The community’s new solar generator and six solar panels could now be used to keep medicines cold, power medical equipment, pump well water, and charge phones. Read more.
Electric vehicle keeps Asheville residents charged during Hurricane Helene
“It was a lifeline during those dark, anxious hours.” When Asheville resident Jason Smith’s friends joined him to ride out Hurricane Helene, it soon became obvious that their 3-kWh battery power bank was only going to get them so far. So his friends plugged in their Kia EV6. Thanks to the cars’ bidirectional charging, Smith and his friends were able to keep the fridge, lights, and electronics on. Without power at home for two weeks, they were able to top up the Kia’s battery at the local Sam’s Club fast chargers. Read more.
Follow along each week
These stories highlight just a few of the positive things happening in our area! Every day we see signs of hope. The Clean Energy Generation is creating a future powered by clean energy that leads to clean air and water, good jobs, and vibrant communities.
Would you like to see more stories like this? We’ve got just the thing for you! Every Thursday, we share the latest clean energy news on Instagram with #CleanEnergyNews. Join us as we celebrate the progress and signs of hope in the clean energy transition.
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Together, all of us who are taking action are part of the Clean Energy Generation movement. We’re coming together to create healthier communities and a more secure and sustainable environment, starting now. No matter your age, income, zip code, or abilities, you can play a role. You don’t have to have the answers, learning more is a great way to start. Join us, and we’ll share ideas, resources, tools, and practices to show how we can all be part of the transformation.
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The post A (Solar) Light in the Dark: Six Uplifting Stories from Hurricane Season appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
A (Solar) Light in the Dark: Six Uplifting Stories from Hurricane Season
Weather Guard Lightning Tech
Australia’s $17B Grid Expansion, Recycling Blades to Steel
Allen covers Suzlon hitting 2 GW in a single Indian state, Nabrawind’s crane-free turbine install in Namibia, Antora’s South Dakota thermal battery, Australia’s $17 billion grid expansion, and Shimizu recycling old turbine blades into steel.
Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!
GOOD MORNING.
The wind industry is not just getting bigger.
It is getting smarter.
And today … we have the proof.
Let us start in India.
SUZLON GROUP just crossed a milestone.
Two gigawatts of wind orders … in a single Indian state.
The latest deal … sixty-five turbines at three megawatts each
for a company called SUNSURE ENERGY.
SUNSURE is not a utility.
It is an independent power producer
building round-the-clock clean energy
for data centers … electric vehicles … and heavy industry.
Wind paired with solar and battery storage.
Power that does not stop when the sun goes down.
SUZLON is already building six hundred and sixty-four megawatts
of additional commercial and industrial projects in the same region.
And SUNSURE … backed by PARTNERS GROUP of Switzerland …
has seven gigawatts in development across India
with a target of ten gigawatts by two thousand thirty.
That is not government-led.
That is private capital chasing wind.
Now … across the ocean to Africa.
A Spanish company called NABRAWIND [NAH-brah-wind]
just solved a problem that has plagued remote wind farms for years.
How do you install a turbine
when you cannot get a crane to the site?
Their answer is a system called SKYLIFT.
No heavy-lift cranes. None.
A self-erecting tower combined with a blade installation tool
they call the BLADERUNNER.
They just put up a GOLDWIND six-megawatt turbine
at a wind farm in NAMIBIA.
And here is the part that changes the math.
Traditional crane installation needs calm air.
Six to eight meters per second. Maximum.
NABRAWIND’s system works in fifteen meters per second sustained …
with gusts up to twenty.
That site blows hard. All the time.
Which is exactly why they chose it.
When complete … seven turbines …
two hundred and thirty gigawatt-hours a year.
About six percent of NAMIBIA’s entire electricity demand.
NABRAWIND was acquired by Australia’s FORTESCUE last year
as part of its industrial decarbonization push.
So India is stacking private-sector wind orders.
Africa is installing turbines without cranes.
And in SOUTH DAKOTA …
they are storing the wind itself.
A California startup called ANTORA ENERGY
just built a five-gigawatt-hour thermal battery
at an ethanol plant in BIG STONE CITY.
More than two hundred solid carbon blocks.
When the wind blows at night and nobody needs the power …
the blocks absorb cheap electricity and heat up.
When the plant needs energy …
the blocks release heat or generate electricity
through special cells that capture light
from superheated material.
Think of it as a giant toaster oven battery.
Full power expected by October.
The plant’s president put it simply.
Nobody has got a switch for the wind.
It blows when it wants to blow.
Now … down under.
The AUSTRALIAN government just announced
the biggest single expansion of its electricity grid.
Nineteen renewable energy projects.
Seven-point-eight gigawatts of generation.
Seven-point-nine gigawatt-hours of battery storage.
Seventeen billion dollars in private investment.
Nineteen thousand construction jobs.
Power for four million homes.
Among the largest … RWE’s [arr-vay’s] THEODORE wind farm in QUEENSLAND.
One-point-one gigawatts. Up to one hundred and seventy turbines.
Three billion Australian dollars.
RWE … the same company building offshore wind
in England and Denmark …
is now building onshore in AUSTRALIA.
And the AUSTRALIAN government is not stopping.
They just opened the next round of tenders.
Another five gigawatts.
Finally … JAPAN.
Major contractor SHIMIZU [shee-MEE-zoo] CORPORATION
has developed a way to recycle old wind turbine blades.
Not into park benches. Not into landfill.
Into steel.
The blades are cut and crushed into a material
that goes into electric furnaces
to adjust the carbon content of steel …
making it harder and stronger.
JAPAN expects to replace one hundred to two hundred turbines a year
by the two thousand thirties.
That is two to three thousand tonnes of blade waste. Annually.
SHIMIZU has built about twenty percent
of the wind power facilities in JAPAN.
They see this technology as a way to grow
their entire wind energy business.
So … let us step back.
India stacks two gigawatts of private-sector wind orders.
Africa installs turbines in gale-force winds … without a crane.
South Dakota stores surplus wind in superheated carbon blocks.
Australia backs nineteen projects with seventeen billion dollars.
And Japan turns old blades into stronger steel.
From the factory floor to the scrap yard …
from the wind farm to the furnace …
the industry is solving problems
at every stage of a turbine’s life.
And that’s the state of the wind industry for the 25th of May 2026.
Join us for the UPTIME WIND ENERGY PODCAST tomorrow.
We’ve all heard ideas like the one being expressed here, though this one sounds extreme. Jail sentence? Education is exclusively an exercise in pounding in bad habits?
What’s the outcome for students in the very worst of our schools that make no attempt whatsoever to help its pupils learn to think critically? Well, their kids learn to:
- Read and write
- Do math, at least through algebra
- Understand some level of history and geography
- Make friends and get along with others
- Establish independence from the parents
- Gain the qualifications for employment
What’s the alternative? Illiteracy? Social isolation? Child labor? Poverty? Neurotic sloth? Being a burden on society?
Is it a coincidence that the countries with the best educated children are the happiest, sanest and most productive nations on the planet?
If you’re a competent woman working at the highest echelon in the U.S. government, better start packing your bags.
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