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The Clean Energy Generation is making progress every day here in the Southeast. From a conservative Florida county switching to electric school buses to a South Carolina Domino’s serving a slice of solar, to Tennessee refusing to pump the brakes on its EV charger program, our clean energy future is becoming a reality. Take a look at just six of the many encouraging signs of clean energy adoption in the Southeast we’ve seen so far this year.

A collage of three photos. The left photo is of solar panels. The middle photo is of electric school buses. And the right photo is of hands holding slices of pizza.

Middle photo of Dixie County’s new electric school buses courtesy of Highland Electric

No other energy source came close to matching solar’s rate of growth in 2024

Here’s some bright news for ya: Solar remains the fastest-growing source of U.S. electrical generation, as solar generation for the first 11 months of 2024 increased by over 26%. New solar capacity also easily surpassed all other energy sources during the first 11 months of 2024, followed by wind. In fact, the solar added in 2024 should generate almost six times more electricity than newly added nuclear power or methane gas. Meanwhile, newly added wind should generate nearly the same amount of electricity as newly added nuclear or gas. Read more.

Small Florida county makes switch to electric school buses

At a time when clean energy has been put in the political crosshairs, Dixie County is proving that protecting student health doesn’t have to be political. The conservative Florida county recently debuted its fleet of 23 new school buses — all of them electric. For school officials, the biggest motivator wasn’t reducing emissions — it was increasing comfort. Unlike their predecessors, the district’s new electric buses have air conditioning. This not only keeps the drivers and students cooler but allows them to keep the windows up, dodging the dust that typically floods through. Read more.

The first solar-powered Domino’s of its kind has opened in the US, in York County, SC

A slice of solar. South Carolina is now home to one of the world’s first solar-powered Domino’s. The new York County location is the first Domino’s in the world to operate on solar power to this degree, with solar panels on its roof, integrated into its exterior, and powering its parking lot lights. The parking lot itself also features two EV charging stations, allowing customers to charge while they eat. “We are a family-owned franchise of Domino’s,” said a representative for the new solar spot. “And wanted to lead by example for the brand.” Who wants to grab a slice? Read more.

A collage of three photos. The left photo is of

Left photo of Otis and Carlyn Jones courtesy of Lucille Lannigan/The Albany Herald; right photo of Toyota’s battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina courtesy of Toyota Motor Corp.

Rural southwest Georgia community homes receive free, energy-efficient appliance upgrades

Carlyn Jones had gone 18 years relying on propane-fueled space heaters to keep her warm…until Rewiring America installed a new HVAC unit. As of last month, 75% of the homes in rural DeSoto, Georgia were outfitted with brand-new, energy-efficient appliances that cost residents nothing. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, these energy-efficient upgrades are not only slashing energy costs but are providing modern, working appliances to homes that have long gone without. Read more.

Tennessee’s own EV charging program still running as Trump hits brakes on federal grants

States are taking up the charge. Tennessee is moving ahead with its state-level grant program designed to build new EV chargers along the state’s interstates and highways. The goal of Tennessee’s program is to establish a network of fast-charging stations at least every 50 miles along the state’s major arteries. This push for EV chargers corresponds with a rise in EV manufacturing in Tennessee, which is anticipated to create thousands of jobs, particularly in the state’s rural communities. Read more.

Toyota’s expanded $14B North Carolina EV battery plant ready to roll

States aren’t the only ones charging ahead: Toyota is too. The batteries produced at the automaker’s newly expanded North Carolina plant — which will be used in hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric vehicles built in North America — will begin shipping in April. The plant, which is Toyota’s first in-house battery manufacturing facility in the U.S., will employ about 5,000 workers. Toyota Motor North America reported sales of just over 1 million electrified vehicles in 2024, a 53.1% increase from the year before. 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.

Join the Clean Energy Generation

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.

Join the Clean Energy Generation

The post Solar-Powered Domino’s and 5 Other Encouraging Signs of Progress in the Southeast appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Solar-Powered Domino’s and 5 Other Encouraging Signs of Progress in the Southeast

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As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?

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As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?

While most of Europe has spent most of this year itemizing reasons it cannot, should not, and will not use Chinese wind turbines or components, accusations and arm-twisting tactics have garnered most of the attention.

But we invite you to consider a future – maybe just five, or ten years from now?- in which those same countries and companies are eagerly awaiting orders from wind turbine manufacturing facilities in… India.
What?!
You know that the country has a lot of installed wind.

You may think – and many in the industry would agree – that India’s blade manufacturers are a few revs behind blade-makers elsewhere in the world. But the country is newly committed to manufacturing and it’s busy installing more – provided that it’s made in India, with Indian technology, by Indian workers.
Of course, similar domestic-focused policy currents are running through European countries – where wind OEMs are almost inarguably a decade ahead of Indian manufacturers. But there’s an important reason why we say, “watch India” in wind turbine manufacturing.

It’s because you might learn something.

If you follow The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast, you probably heard this discussion a few weeks ago. It wasn’t the headline story – we try to highlight as many major news items and trends that we can, and follow up as credible information becomes available. India’s quiet moves to strengthen its own renewable energy industries didn’t grab the headlines. But it comprised a good bit of our panelists’ discussion.

With India’s expanding manufacturing capacity, and Suzlon’s strategic offerings for the European market (Blue Sky), there are reasons for European developers to take a closer look at Indian manufacturers.

If Europe continues to squelch deals with Chinese manufacturers due to data security issues, India is a relatively obvious candidate to fill the void, for several reasons:

  • The country has depth and breadth in R&D: India (Suzlon, specifically) has a track record of involvement and relationships across the continent, as it operates research and development centers in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
  • Indian service providers have reach: Inox and Adoni Wind operate multiple wind turbine manufacturing plants and wind farms throughout several Indian states, and Apraava Energy has been commissioning wind projects, working with multiple OEMs, for more than 16 years.
  • The country’s energy sector has size: Tata Power is estimated to be worth about US$16 billion and employs 22,000 people.

And major manufacturers from other countries have had a strong presence in the country for years:

  • GE Vernova has turbine blade and nacelle manufacturing operations and multiple tech/R&D centers in India;
  • Vestas has a R&D technology center in Chennai; and
  • China’s SANY Wind has had assembly facilities in India since 2017, and in 2024, it signed a licensing agreement with JSW allowing SANY to manufacture blades and generators for JSW – enabling JSW Neo Energy to produce wind turbine generators and major components in-country.

So while there is hard data suggesting that India is already a global hub for wind turbines, sometimes the real strength comes from soft skills. Like sharing information.

We’ve noticed that Indian manufactures aren’t stingy with information. They share what they learn in the field and on the shop floor, so that the whole industry can move faster to solve problems. That bodes well for the industry overall, and particularly well for companies who figure out how to solve problems that some manufacturers aren’t even ready to admit to having.

We’ll be watching India with a great deal of interest in the coming months. Subscribe to The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast and follow along with us.

We’re not financial analysts. We’re engineers who watch the wind industry very closely. This is what we’ve noticed, and we thought it was worth sharing.

Where do you think you’ll be looking for solutions, components, and service providers in the next few years or the next decade? Tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?

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When You Write for Idiots, You Can Get Away with Anything

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To the author of the meme here:

“Either” refers to two choices; “any” refers to three or more.

More importantly, it’s amazing how shamelessly the ultra-right wing exaggerates.  The left side of the Democratic party would like to see the United States look like social democracies in places like Scandinavia.  Having government programs that benefit the common person, e.g., Social Security, public schools, emergency relief, libraries, environmental responsibility, etc., does not equate to Stalinism.

When You Write for Idiots, You Can Get Away with Anything

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Renewable Energy

Are Muslims “Dangerous?”

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Some of my old prep school chums from the Class of 1973 convene via Zoom approximately every six weeks for a 90-minute discussion of current events, science, and anything else that sounds interesting.

Our professions range from medicine, law, finance, and business management. All from highly ranked colleges.  Over 50% hold doctorate degrees.

Here’s something I find fascinating about the group: it includes one right-wing conservative.  I don’t mean a Reaganite; I mean a Trump supporter.  This guy is incapable of any thought that doesn’t come directly from Nexsmax.

It’s almost eerie how closely he toes the line of the far-right.  Yesterday he echoed the Newsmax talking point and told the group that all Muslims holding public office are “very dangerous” and should be removed.

Now, the rest of us are sitting there, dumbfounded at this idea, unwilling waste our breath on this racist and utterly preposterous concept.

All this raises the question: How are our political viewpoints formed?  How much of this is genetics?  Epigenetics?  Early childhood experiences? How do take a boy from among the best environments and turn him into someone who struggles to understand the most basic principles on which our country was founded?

https://www.2greenenergy.com/2026/11/09/principles-country-was-founded/

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