This article was produced by Resource Rural.
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection reporting for the Resource Rural-Public News Service Collaboration

At Long’s Pic Pac in Pineville, Kentucky, Mike Long is finding an innovative way to cut down on electricity costs. Solar panels cover the roof of the small-town grocery. A 60KWh battery allows Long’s Pic Pac to store solar energy, vastly reducing the peak demand charges that make up more than half the store’s monthly power bill.

Long is the general manager of the grocery business started in 1964, when his father Arthur “Ray” Long got a $3,500 loan co-signed by an appliance store owner who knew Ray from watching him play football. Mike was only a few years old when his father’s grocery store opened. He grew up with the business.

Today, he’s determined to keep Long’s Pic Pac the grocery store of choice for Pineville, a town of about 1,630 people in Southeastern Kentucky. “There’s only one cell tower,” Long said of Pineville. “You can run around the whole town in about three miles.”

Long thinks Pic Pac might be the first grocery store in Kentucky to install solar with battery capacity to lower the high demand charges of refrigeration, deli ovens and fryers. A Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded 40% of the project.

The business is also eligible for a 30% federal tax credit on the 143kW solar array, with a longer depreciation because Pineville is a low-income community. The median household income in Pineville was $27,159 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the Appalachian region of Kentucky, more than 20 percent of the population regularly experiences hunger, and keeping the lights on in rural grocery stores helps reduce food insecurity. Long projects an estimated cost savings from the solar array and battery storage of at least $15,000 per year. That savings could be used for staffing in the perishable departments and offset added field costs in delivery.

Grocery stores run on a razor-thin 2.2% profit margin, making them among the least profitable industries in the U.S .“Tight margins are one of the reasons why many rural places have seen full service stores struggle to keep their doors open,” said Long.

Long learned about the REAP grant through the Mountain Association, a nonprofit that works to help Eastern Kentucky transition to a more diverse, equitable, sustainable and resilient economy. Solar Energy Solutions installed the array.

Long expects to be able to pay back the cost of the project in four years. At the grocery store, power can cost as much as $78,000 annually. On a monthly bill, the power charges might be $2,600, while the store might pay $3,900 for the “demand charge,” based on the highest amount of power used.

Around 2017, Long’s Pic Pac upgraded the refrigerated cases in the produce meat and deli departments with motion-detector lighting and doors to conserve energy and freshness, using a then-20% REAP grant. The store will be replacing freezers and an older refrigeration motor room later this year with a REAP grant. Long said that competition for energy savings grants is increasing as more people hear success stories.

He aims to be a small-town store ahead of the curve. “None of the chains have solar,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know of any chains using solar like Long’s Pic Pac. “We’ve got more green, newer stuff than any of them.”

As with the grocery store, “people take pride in the town,” he said. Long’s Pic Pac also draws on customers from surrounding communities and unincorporated areas, despite the presence of larger stores within a 15-minute drive. Several thousand customers a week walk through the doors at Long’s Pic Pac.

“Our sales floor is only 11,500 square feet,” Long said. “We’re small here, but everybody feels like it’s a small thing that we make the most out of,” he said.


This article was produced by Resource Rural.


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Virginia's Dominion Energy has won a lease to continue growing its offshore wind portfolio near Virginia's coast.

The move is expected to grow the Commonwealth's utility industry and help it reach its clean energy goals. The lease is for more than 175,000 acres about 35 miles from the Chesapeake Bay. The federal government said the site could potentially produce 4 gigawatts, enough to power about 1.4 million homes.

Eileen Woll, offshore energy program director for the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, said the announcement shows the scale of the opportunity presented by renewables.

"If we play our cards right, I mean, that's literally tens of thousands of jobs for all kinds of folks in our community," Woll pointed out. "It is a brand-new industry and that's why you see so much interest across the board."

This new lease is right next to another massive offshore wind project expected to go online in 2026. Other nearby leases include a site near the Outer Banks and an area off the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware. Woll argued the region should invest in apprenticeship programs for engineers, welders and other skilled workers who can help manufacture and build wind farms.

Virginia lawmakers passed a law in 2020 seeking to decarbonize the Commonwealth's electric grid by midcentury.

Julia Pendleton, managing director of the Southeast Wind Coalition, said the announcement puts the power sector on track to reach the goals, even with a growing population and data center industry.

"Local leaders here really understand how it can help us both meet that rising energy demand, meet those legislatively mandated clean energy goals and create economic opportunity in the Commonwealth," Pendleton asserted.

Once built, the wind farms will be difficult to see from the shoreline on a clear day. The federal government also said they have reviewed potential impacts to marine life and added regulations to mitigate any adverse effects. The Interior Department said it will hold more lease sales in the Central Atlantic in 2026.

A new study warns that Illinois will face future energy shortages and a higher risk of blackouts, unless investments are made soon in cleaner energy.

Data from the study "Cost and Benefit Analysis of Energy Storage Resource Deployment in Illinois," suggests the state could face an energy shortfall as early as 2030.

Clean Grid Association Vice President of Advocacy Jeff Danielson said Illinois wants to be a good energy partner with other Midwestern states.

He added that change needs to occur from the way previous generations have addressed their energy needs.

"One is encouraging the sustainable, cheaper, cleaner sources of energy to actually be able to connect to the grid and be used," said Danielson. "But that transition from yesterday's grid to tomorrow's grid is going to require support and advocacy from the consumers themselves."

Additional data from the study suggested battery storage may be the most economical and environmentally beneficial replacement for fossil fuels to make the grid reliable.

Another factor that supports a sense of urgency for upgrades is the possibility that consumers may see a $30 monthly increase in their energy bills.

According to the U.S. Energy Administration, in 2022 almost three-fifths of the state's solar generation came from utility-scale facilities and the rest mostly from rooftop solar panels.

The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act passed by Illinois legislators in 2021 features guidelines to phase out carbon emissions from the energy and transportation sectors.

Danielson said he supports the study's information and says battery energy storage is less expensive than other sources and allows the grid to work better alongside wind and solar.

He says hydrogen could be an additional future option.

"First and foremost is ensuring that battery energy storage is a part of the CEJA goals today," said Danielson. "Illinois is very progressive. They invest in wind and solar projects from utility-scale all the way to rooftop. Notably absent from that investment is battery storage."

There are economic benefits in support of using battery storage, according to the study.

The construction and operation of projects will boost jobs in Illinois by nearly 33,000 and bring an increase of between $4 and $17 billion to the state.

Two pieces of legislation - SB 3959 and HB 5856 - were introduced in May as the Illinois legislative session was ending.

The measures would amend existing energy laws to add storage incentives to state policy, along with existing incentives for nuclear and renewable sources.

New York's Public Service Commission has approved a three-year rate increase for National Grid.

The more than 19% rate increase will impact Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island ratepayers starting Sept. 1. People will see an initial $30 increase in their bills this year. Outer borough residents will see rates grow $31 by 2026. Long Islanders will see a $27 rate increase in the same period.

Chris Casey, New York utilities regulatory director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, called it a step backward for New York's climate goals.

"This decision really undermines the goals and is prolonging our reliance on fossil fuels," Casey contended. "Which will increase costs for customers and delay the clean energy transition."

The money from the rate increases will finance capital investments in methane gas and help the company replace 351 miles of gas distribution pipes. New Yorkers were split on the rate case. Those who opposed it said it was too expensive or felt the state should move to renewable energy. Supporters countered it creates well-paying union jobs and improves reliability by removing leak-prone pipes.

Despite the approval of the increase going forward, New York is already moving away from using gas. The 2023 All-Electric Buildings Act bans natural gas and other fossil fuels in new buildings. Other bills continuing the work include the New York HEAT Act.

Casey noted the bill lets the Public Service Commission align utility companies with the state's climate laws.

"In particular, there's some provisions in the Public Service laws that effectively create a right to natural gas," Casey pointed out. "It enables the companies to provide gas to anybody who wants it in their service territories."

He added the provision makes it harder to manage the natural gas system and transition it to one aligned with the state's clean energy goals. The HEAT Act could cut utility bills nearly in half for one in four energy-burdened New Yorkers. Part of the bill ensures no household pays more than 6% of its annual income on gas or electricity bills.