Researchers mapped American croplands that have fallen out of production in hopes of inspiring new uses for them, such as renewable energy.

Roughly 30 million acres of croplands in the United States have been abandoned since the 1980s, including 1.5 million in South Dakota, according to a recent paper.

Tyler Lark, research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the report's co-authors, said some lands have been restored to natural ecosystems. Others, those perhaps currently populated by invasive species, could be the answer to big questions the country is facing about where to house increasing renewable-energy development.

"We ideally want to avoid our best and most productive ag lands but we also don't want to encroach on pristine or native ecosystems," Lark explained. "Formerly cropped lands might hit that sweet spot in the middle."

Lark pointed out those acres could be used for biofuel, wind or solar production. Legislators have written bills to promote renewable-energy development without threatening the country's richest soils. One example is the Protecting Future Farmland Act, introduced last September by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, which would facilitate what advocates call a "smarter solar buildout."

The American Farmland Trust estimated about 83% of new solar projects are built on farmlands and a majority of those on what's considered "prime" agricultural lands. Lark hopes research can help avoid conflicts over land use.

"At the local land-use planning level, where you have potential competition between different land uses, this data could potentially help facilitate that conversation and guide some of those investments," Lark contended.

Some renewable energy projects can coexist with agriculture. According to research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmlands where wind turbines were installed between 2009 and 2020 typically stayed in farm production, while about 15% of farmlands where solar power was added shifted out of agriculture.


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New nuclear power options are getting a lot of attention but analysts said the unproven options could distract from readily available renewable energy options.

Big Tech companies with growing energy demands from technology, like artificial intelligence, have recently announced support for new nuclear efforts, including Amazon's support for a plan in Washington state. The plans involve technology called small modular reactors, which are smaller than typical nuclear reactors.

Dennis Wamsted, energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said the technology likely would not come online until 2030 or later in the U.S.

"It's a great marketing tool. There's no actual there, there yet," Wamsted asserted. "There are no operating small modular reactors in the United States or in Europe. There's one or two in Russia and one in China."

Wamsted recently analyzed what he called the hype surrounding small modular reactors. He noted the projects may be distant energy solutions and distract from solar, wind and geothermal plants, which are already proven to work.

Wamsted acknowledged tech companies should be applauded for their clean energy goals, which are among the most aggressive of any industry. But when it comes to small modular reactors, there are a lot of hurdles to starting up, including regulatory barriers.

"The safety license is given to you by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has a process," Wamsted explained. "It is a relatively time-consuming process. It may be more time-consuming for companies like X Energy because their reactors have never been licensed before."

Wamsted added while we could wait a decade for small modular reactors to produce energy for the first time, there are solar projects, for instance, that have gone from announcement to commercial operation in two years.

"Focus on the availability now of renewables and continue to fund the SMRs," Wamsted urged. "But be up-front about the fact that they're not a solution for the rapid demand growth that we're going through in the United States right now."

By Kari Lydersen for Energy News Network.
Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Darryl Moton is ready to "get on a roof."

The 25-year-old Chicago resident is among the latest graduates of an intensive 13-week solar training course that's helping to connect employers with job candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.

Moton was referred by another job readiness program meant to keep youth away from gun violence. He "never knew about solar" before but now sees himself owning a solar company and using the proceeds to fund his music and clothing design endeavors.

He and others interviewed for jobs with a dozen employers assembled at a church on Chicago's West Side on August 1 as part of the fourth training cohort for the 548 Foundation, which is partnering with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on a recently-announced $30 million initiative to create 1,000 solar jobs in Chicago's South and West side neighborhoods.

The 548 Foundation is part of 548 Enterprise, a suite of renewable energy and affordable housing development projects, launched in 2019 and named after the public housing unit where co-founder A.J. Patton grew up.

The idea is to help keep housing affordable by using solar to lower energy bills, while training people left out of the traditional energy economy to supply that solar.

"When you invest in a community, the biggest question is who benefits, who gets the jobs?" asked Patton, during the job fair. "This is as good as it gets," he added, about the recent state investment. "We just have to keep advocating for quality policy."

Employers at the job fair said such training programs are crucial for them to find workers in Illinois, where robust solar incentives are attracting many out-of-state companies eager to hire and hit the ground. Mike Huneke, energy operations manager for Minnesota-based Knobelsdorff said he has hired 18 employees from previous 548 cohorts, and he expected to make about six job offers after the recent interviews.

"Illinois is on fire," said Huneke. "We're not from Illinois, so finding this new talent pipeline is what we need. We have a ton of projects coming up."

Lisa Cotton, 30, has dreamed of being an electrician since she was a kid. She had received two job offers at the August 1 fair before the group even broke for lunch.

"A lot of times you go through a training program, get a certificate, and that's the end of it," said Jacqueline Williams of the Restoring Sovereignty Project, a partner which administers the wraparound services for the training program.

The 548 program makes sure to connect graduates with employers, and only companies with specific openings to fill are invited to the job fair. 548 and its partners also stay in contact with graduates and employers to make sure the placement is successful.

"We have a post-grad program where they can call us any time, and an alumni fund. If an employer says, 'This guy can't come to work because his radiator is busted,' we'll take care of that," said Williams.

Achieving equity

After Illinois passed an ambitious clean energy law in 2017, multiple solar training programs were launched in keeping with the law's equity provisions. But employers and advocates were frustrated by a seeming disconnect in which many trainees never got solar jobs, and employers weren't sure how to find the workers.

Since then, the state has passed another clean energy law - the 2021 Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, with even more ambitious equity mandates; and non-profit organizations have developed and honed more advanced workforce training programs. To access incentives under the law, employers need to hire a percent of equity-eligible applicants that rises to 30% by 2030. The program prioritizes people impacted by the criminal justice system, alumni of the foster care system, and people who live in equity-designated communities.

548 affiliates help employers navigate the paperwork and requirements involved in the equity incentives. Several employers at the job fair said this is a plus, but noted that regardless of equity, they are desperate for the type of highly-trained, enthusiastic candidates coming out of the 548 program.

"This is a great way to bridge what the state is trying to do with its clean energy goals, and connecting under-represented people with these opportunities," said Annette Poulimenos, talent acquisition manager of Terrasmart, a major utility-scale solar provider. "We came here ready to hire, and I think we're going to walk away with some new talent."

Member organizations of the Chicago Coalition for Intercommunalism do outreach to recruit most of the training program participants.

Nicholas Brock found out about the training thanks to a staffer at one of these organizations who noticed his professional attitude and punctuality as he walked by every morning to a different workforce program.

"Whatever I do, nine times out of 10, I'm the first one to get there, before the managers," said Brock, 20. "He noticed that and asked me, 'Have you ever heard about solar panels?'"

Brock knew little about solar at that point, but now he aims to be a solar project manager.

"I'm so glad I came here," he said. "They bring out the best in you."

Full service

Wraparound, holistic services are key to the program's success. During the training and for a year afterwards, trainees and alumni can apply for financial help or other types of assistance.

"There are so many barriers, it might be child care or your car is impounded," said Williams. "We might be writing a letter to a judge asking to 'please take him off house arrest so he can work.' It's intensive case management, navigating the bureaucratic anomalies that arise when you're system-impacted."

Moises Vega III, 26 - who always wanted to work in renewables because "it's literally the future" - noted that his car battery died during the training program, and he was provided funds to get his vehicle working again.

While ample support is available, the program itself is rigorous and demanding. Classes meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, and trainees are required to check their phones at the door and be fully focused, notes instructor and 548 workforce strategies director Michael Thomas. During the hands-on boot camp week, the day starts at 6 a.m.

"That's when the trades start," noted Thomas. "You need to figure out how that works, how will you get child care at 5:30 a.m.?"

Sixty-one trainees started in the first three cohorts, and 46 graduated, the first group in July 2023. The fourth cohort started with 25, and as of the job fair, 18 were on track to graduate. Eighty-five percent of graduates from the first three cohorts are currently working in the field, according to 548.

"Even though I wish the graduation rate were higher, the people who commit to it, stay with it," said Kynnée Golder, CEO of Global HR Business Solutions, which has an oversight role for the 548 Foundation. "It's monumental, it's life-changing for a lot of people."

Comprehensive curriculum

The curriculum starts with life skills, including interpersonal relationships, resume-building, financial planning and more. Each day begins with a spiritual reflection.

The students learn about electricity and energy, and soon move into specific instruction on solar installation and operation. Rooms at St. Agatha's church served as labs, where students connected wires, built converters and eventually mounted solar panels on a demonstration pitched, shingled roof.

Terrance Hanson, 40, credited Thomas as "the best instructor ever."

"I'm not a young kid, my brain is no longer a sponge," Hanson said. "He made sure I got it all. Now I feel like I know so much, I'm confident and prepared to get out and show what I can do."

He added that people in disinvested neighborhoods have ample untapped potential to be part of the clean energy workforce.

"You see a lot of basketball players in my community because there are a lot of basketball hoops," he said. "If there were golf courses in the hood, you would see more golfers. It's about opportunities. And this was the most amazing and empowering thing I've ever been through."

Jack Ailey co-founded Ailey Solar in 2012, making it the oldest still-operating residential installer in Illinois, by his calculations. He noted that there can be high turnover among installers, and intensive training and preparation is key.

"You're out there in the sun, the cold, it's heavy physical labor, wrestling 40-pound panels up to the roof," he said. "You have to know what you're getting into."

"Some training programs vary in quality," Ailey added, but he was impressed by the candidates at the 548 job fair.

Trainees test for and receive multiple certifications, including the OSHA 30 for quality assurance, and the NCCER and NABCEP for construction and solar professionals, respectively. The program is also a pre-apprenticeship qualifier, allowing graduates to move on to paid, long-term apprenticeships with unions representing carpenters, electricians, plumbers and laborers - the gateway to a lucrative and stable career in the trades.

Thomas noted that most trade unions still don't have a major focus on solar.

"We're ahead of the unions, and our graduates bring real value to them, and to the companies," he said. "The students might know more than a company's foreman knows. It's a win-win situation. Solar is a nascent industry, there's so much opportunity in this space."

When Tredgett Page, 38, connected with 548, his auto detailing work and other odd jobs were not going well. He had always loved science and been curious about photosynthesis and the sun's power.

"I had been in the streets before, and I was leaning back toward that, but God brought me here," he said. "Now I have the confidence, I know what I'm talking about, I know about megawatts and kilowatts, net metering, grid-connected, pretty much anything about solar."

He sees metaphorical significance in his new trade: "Energy is life, and it teaches you balance, it's all about negative and positive ions." He feels like "the sky is the limit" after the training.

"I have so much skill that they gave me, now I'm hungry to use it," he said. "I'm a little nervous, but optimistic, excited, very exuberant!"


Kari Lydersen wrote this article for Energy News Network.


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More regulatory action is needed, but a controversial pipeline project in North Dakota is moving forward after a permit was approved last week.

Supporters and opponents are now eyeing the next steps.

The state's Public Service Commission gave Summit Carbon Solutions the green light for a siting permit for its planned route in North Dakota.

The company wants to construct a multi-state pipeline in the Midwest to capture carbon pollution from ethanol plants and store the emissions underground in North Dakota.

The commission last year rejected Summit's initial permit request.

Zach Cassidy, CO2 pipeline organizer for the Dakota Resource Council, said the latest outcome raises a big question.

"Who in our state government, or our local governments, has the power to make safety decisions on this pipeline for their residents?" said Cassidy. "Because if county commissioners can't do it, and if the PSC won't do it, that means that no one is looking out for us."

He's referring to rulings that state law supersedes counties pursuing zoning restrictions.

Cassidy said in North Dakota, Summit still needs a storage permit and opponents will focus on that, along with legislative changes.

The company praised the decision, noting it will soon re-apply for a permit in South Dakota, which also initially said no.

The project has led to backlash over concerns such as public safety and landowner rights.

Summit also says it has secured more than 80% of land easements needed for the North Dakota route.

Ahead of last Friday's unanimous approval, Commission Chair Randy Christmann strongly encouraged the company not to rely on practices such as eminent domain as it keeps reaching out to landowners.

"It is something that burdens families for generations," said Christmann. "Eminent domain should never be abused."

Summit insists it remains committed to working collaboratively with affected landowners and communities.

Beyond the Dakotas, the company is awaiting a permit decision in Minnesota. It already secured permit approval in Iowa. Nebraska also is included in the multi-state plan.