EnviroPolitics Blog

Clean energy advocates see opportunity in state races

Wind turbines in Roscoe, Texas, are illuminated by the setting sun.

States are now the epicenter of the clean energy fight.

Industry groups and advocates are targeting state leaders as high electric bills frustrate voters ahead of the midterm elections. Their message: More clean energy equals more affordable energy.

Take Advanced Energy United. As Jason Plautz writes today, the industry group sees an opportunity in the outsize role energy is playing in state-level races. Its road map pitches ideas for speeding up permitting for renewable projects and milking more energy from the existing grid before spending billions on new infrastructure.

“Despite what you see in D.C., the issues we’re talking about have broad political buy-in,” said Dylan Reed, who leads the group’s federal and political affairs. “The question is whether governors want to take this as a priority. That’s why it’s so important to highlight now.”

Step one, he said, is demystifying the energy sector, which is notoriously wonky and hard to parse. The group aims to help governors understand how clean power can drive down prices while boosting the economy.

That message could find its way into many a campaign speech. Thirty-six governor seats are up for grabs this year. Half of those races don’t include incumbents, making them even more competitive.

And energy affordability is top of mind for voters. Since 2021, electricity prices have increased by nearly 40 percent, outpacing inflation, according to a recent PowerLines report.

Read the full story

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Rethinking how wind turbine blades are made

SNEHIT PHOTO/Shutterstock

By Nate Williams, Slashgear

For years now, the U.S. Department of Energy has had one major roadblock to the streamlining of wind turbine installation: the sheer amount of work it takes to manufacture blades. Thanks to 3D printing, the DOE has a new approach that could dramatically change the speed at which these lightweight blades are designed and built.

Rather than relying exclusively on the traditional process of creating a full-scale plug before manufacturing a blade mold, researchers are finding ways to use large 3D-printed molds to make manufacturing faster, more affordable, and even more flexibility in the design of future blades. The best wind turbine blade design is currently the three-bladed horizontal-axis rotor, but that very well could change if experimental blades could be more accessible.

This 3D printing effort is currently moving in various different directions, including the Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Office alongside national laboratories and various private-sector partners. Wind energy already supplies more than 10% of U.S. electricity and generating enough power for tens of millions of American homes. With these advances, the DOE could take the nation’s renewable energy infrastructure to entirely new heights, and it’s also worth noting that the U.S. is also home to many large wind turbine manufacturers.

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Population shift from farmlands seen as contributor to wildfires in France and Spain

By Raymond Zhong, Reporting from London for The New York Times

The giant wildfires in France and Spain are the countries’ largest on record, and at roughly 100,000 acres each, the blazes are bigger than all but six of last year’s wildfires in the American West.

Studies have shown that global warming is driving Southern Europe’s recent increase in sprawling, fast-moving fires that create their own weather and can be all but impossible to put out. But experts say there’s another factor behind the continent’s large fires, one rooted in societal changes that could be hard to reverse.

In parts of Europe, a generational shift away from farming has replaced patchworks of pastures and plowed fields with untamed vegetation that burns intensely during hot, dry summers like this one.

“Climate change needs to be taken into account, but also the social changes are very important,” said Emilio Chuvieco, a professor of geography at the University of Alcalá in Spain. “There is no simple solution to big problems.”

Read the full story here

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NJ Governor Sherrill signed these bills today

S-743/A-4554 (Burzichelli/Kennedy, Simmons) – Appropriates $111.6 million in dedicated natural resource damages revenues to DEP for habitat restoration, land acquisition, and restoration oversight projects.

S-4423/A-5334 (McKeon, Tiver/Sweeney, Morales, Reynolds-Jackson) – Appropriates $77,406,208 from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues and various Green Acres funds to DEP for local government open space acquisition and park development projects, and for certain administrative expenses.

S-4424/A-5333 (Smith, Greenstein/Angelozzi, Rowan, McCoy) – Appropriates $15,546,575 to DEP from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues for grants to certain nonprofit entities to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, and for certain administrative expenses.

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Today’s Keyport NJ cancer cluster news

By Joanna Gagis, Senior Correspondent, NJ Spotlight News

Sixteen years after Keyport groundwater was found to contain cancer-causing chemicals, the latest samples show the presence of heavy metals plus benzene and vinyl chloride above acceptable levels.

The tests, near the former Aeromarine landfill, were conducted after illnesses in a nearby neighborhood triggered fears of a cancer cluster. More than 400 cases have been reported by residents of Keyport and Union Beach.

Tests 16 years ago found a multitude of cancer-causing contaminants. In June, a company planning to purchase the old landfill, Pacer Partners, contracted with an environmental engineering firm, SESI, to conduct groundwater samples. SESI found benzene and vinyl chloride at higher that acceptable levels for state standards, and heavy metals including lead, cobalt and arsenic.

More Issues

Keyport follow-up study finds almost 10 times more cancer cases

NJ Advance Media journalist Karin Price Mueller, whose work appears on NJ.com, helped break the story of a potential cancer cluster, reporting about 40 known cases in April. The number since has grown to 415 individuals in Keyport and Union Beach.

View the full interview here

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Atlantic County Utilities Authority receives national clean water award

ACUA Lab Analyst Matthew McGill performs water testing in ACUA’s water testing laboratory.

Atlantic City, NJ – July 29, 2026 – The Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) has been honored with a Gold Peak Performance Award by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA).

“This recognition exemplifies the Authority’s continued commitment to environmental protection and is a testament to the hard work of our wastewater team,” said ACUA President Matthew DeNafo. “From performing tests in our laboratory to monitoring the plant’s operations around the clock, their work is essential to protecting the public health of our community.”

The Peak Performance awards are presented annually to NACWA member agencies that demonstrate operational excellence and achieve 100 percent compliance with their National Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The NPDES permit sets limits and reporting requirements for wastewater treatment facilities to ensure treated wastewater is safely returned to the environment.

“ACUA continually meets and exceeds permit requirements for wastewater treatment,” said ACUA Vice President of Wastewater Joseph Pantalone. “This award brings attention to the important work completed at this facility and the role it plays in preserving local waterways.”

The ACUA Wastewater Treatment Facility serves 14 municipalities in Atlantic County and can treat up to 40 million gallons of wastewater per day. The Authority manages more than 60 miles of pipeline and 22 pump stations. The facility is powered in part by renewable energy and is home to the world’s first microplastic removal project.

To give residents a closer look at this important work, ACUA provides free public tours of its facility every Wednesday in August at noon. Visitors learn how wastewater is treated and see firsthand how ACUA protects the environment. Visit acua.com for details.

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