That pluck has landed his Charlottesville company the opportunity to be the first to generate large-scale renewable power on the coalfields of Central Appalachia. If the bold venture announced this week comes to fruition, roughly 550 acres of deforested minelands sprinkled across an expansive Nature Conservancy preserve will generate up to 75 megawatts of solar energy within two to three years.
“If it were easy, everybody would be doing it,” Van Clief said about plunging into untested territory. “I’m thrilled … to play a small part in the energy transition in Southwest Virginia. This is a breakout moment for the region. There’s been a lot of talk about this but not as much action.”
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Beardstown pork plant powered by the sun, thanks to C-PACE financing
Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network
May 12, 2021
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A 2.6-megawatt solar array at JBS Foods USA s pork processing plant in Beardstown.Midwest Energy News
BEARDSTOWN A massive pork processing plant is powered by solar thanks to commercial PACE financing a first for the company, and for Illinois, and an example that advocates hope will inspire other industries to embrace the form of financing for clean energy projects.
JBS Foods USA is saving about $250,000 a year and making progress toward its goals of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 thanks to the 2.6-megawatt solar array, which consists of 7,200 panels on a lush field near the plant that kills 20,000 hogs a year and is the economic lifeblood of the town of Beardstown.
Environmental News For The Week Ending 09 May 2019
This is a collection of interesting news articles about the environment and related topics published last week. This is usually a Tuesday evening regular post at
GEI (but can be posted at other times).
Please share this article - Go to very top of page, right hand side, for social media buttons.
Note: Because of the high volume of news regarding the coronavirus outbreak, that news has been published separately:
Major coronavirus metrics continue to head lower in the US, and now also globally. New cases in the US during the week ending May 8th were down 18.6% from new cases during the week ending May 1st, and are now down 83.3% from the January peak; this week also saw fewer new cases than any week since September. This week s US deaths attributed to Covid were 6.8% lower than the prior week s, and down 80.5% from the January high; US Covid deaths are now at the lowest rate since since the second week of July.
Grid congestion caps Minnesotan s rooftop solar ambitions
FRANK JOSSIE of Energy News Network
May 6, 2021
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NORTHFIELD, Minn. (AP) The explosive growth of community solar projects to meet demand from Twin Cities customers is curtailing clean energy options in a southern Minnesota college town.
Northfield, about 40 miles south of Minneapolis, is home to Carleton and St. Olaf colleges and around 20,000 residents, whose strong interest in clean energy is reflected in a solar adoption rate three times the state average. The city passed a climate action plan in 2019 that calls for eliminating carbon emissions by 2040, in part through the expansion of rooftop solar.