As solar power approaches and even surpasses fossil fuels in cost, the next goal is to make the source of renewable energy ubiquitous.
Tina Casey shares news of the huge scale that the solar industry has achieved in recent years: "The US solar industry has engineered a 1200% increase in utility-scale capacity since 2008, according to a new blog post from the Energy Department."
The article's title—"Nothing Can Stop the US Solar Juggernaut Now"—implies a long-term pattern that will persist beyond the current "hiccup" (as Casey describes it) in the price of oil. The Obama Administration even has a plan to bring the cost of solar energy into parity with fossil fuels, called the SunShot initiative. Casey declares that SunShot has been "so far so good," but a lot more work remains to be done to make solar " not only competitive but ubiquitous."
Along those lines, the Energy Department last week announced $59 million of new funding to support the solar industry. According to a press release announcing the funds, "[the] Department is making $45 million in funding available to quickly move innovative solar manufacturing technologies to market, and is also awarding more than $14 million for 15 new projects to help communities develop multi-year solar deployment plans to install solar electricity in homes, businesses, and communities." Casey provides additional insight into those programs in the article.
FULL STORY: Nothing Can Stop The US Solar Industry Juggernaut Now

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater
The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.

Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest
The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.

Is This Urbanism?
Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.
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