Renew Missouri

“Missouri Rep. Ben Keathley, R-Chesterfield, and Sen. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, have both announced the introduction of legislation establishing a three-year community solar pilot program in Missouri. HB 662 and its companion bill in the Senate, SB 386, will provide access to affordable energy throughout the state and serve as a launch pad for growing a strong community solar sector in Missouri.” 😊 💡 ☀️ Read more https://lnkd.in/gRxGXPB8

"The United States can now manufacture enough solar modules to meet domestic demand, according to a report released Tuesday from the Solar Energy Industries Association. ☀️ ♻️ Solar module manufacturing capacity has expanded sevenfold to 50 gigawatts since 2020, reducing reliance on foreign imports and reinforcing America’s role as a leader in renewable energy, the trade association’s report says." https://lnkd.in/gHjyM-RZ

"Panasonic's gigantic EV-battery plant in De Soto anticipates coming online in the spring. By summer, it expects to have 1,000 employees cranking up production even as construction continues." 🔋 ♻️ https://lnkd.in/gnMuBtPC

Depending on income and race, the costs of energy bills are felt unevenly across St. Louis. 💵 ❄️ ”City residents with the lowest incomes often pay the highest bills, according to the St. Louis Energy Burden Report and its interactive map.” Roughly 19,300 houses experience “high energy burden,” and spend  6% - 30% of their annual income on utility bills. 💡 🙁 🗺️ Access the Missouri Energy Burden Explorer here https://lnkd.in/gVA-zcFj 📰 Read more https://lnkd.in/g9Xv9JKz

"Missouri Rep. Ben Keathley, R-Chesterfield, and Sen. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, have both announced the introduction of legislation establishing a three-year community solar pilot program in Missouri. HB 662 and its companion bill in the Senate, SB 386, will provide access to affordable energy throughout the state and serve as a launch pad for growing a strong community solar sector in Missouri. HB 662 was referred to the Emerging Issues Committee." ☀️ 🤝 https://lnkd.in/gRxGXPB8

Following the release of Renew Missouri's Energy Burden tracking web tool 💻 🔎 , St. Louis Public Radio released an article detailing our findings: "In the city, residents with an average income of about $35,000 pay $2,408 a year for utilities, while residents with an average income of about $85,000 pay $2,082 a year, according to the report. “Having a high energy burden can have catastrophic, cascading impacts on residents,” DeRose said. “In 2024, over 90,000 households were disconnected by Ameren Missouri. Disconnections are highly disruptive at minimum and can lead to serious consequences, including evictions.”" https://lnkd.in/gE6HeQN4

In 2023, the Missouri Public Service Commission approved a rule that would require utilities to be more transparent about shutoffs and disconnections across the state. Then it was abruptly removed in a manner experts say was “unusual”. 🤔 💡 Read more https://lnkd.in/gcSY6CJh

"When we think of solar, we tend to picture shimmering expanses of panels spread across farmland or mounted on rooftops. But how about attached to a raft, floating atop a reservoir? Floating solar photovoltaics, also called “floatovoltaics,” is an emerging technology that’s taken off in countries across Asia and Europe, especially near urban areas with limited space available for land-based solar." 🔌 🌊 https://lnkd.in/druj88ee

“Both Evergy and Ameren Missouri asked the Missouri House Utilities Committee on Wednesday to support legislation that would allow them to charge customers for natural, or methane, gas power plants even before they’re completed, saying the state needs more electrical power." 💡 "But environmental and consumer advocates say the legislation, known as “construction work in progress,” just allows more profit for monopoly companies at the expense of consumers.” 💵 Learn more https://lnkd.in/gEkkvcZH

"According to shipment data from the industry trade group Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, Americans bought 37% more air-source heat pumps than the next-most-popular heating appliance, gas furnaces, during the first 11 months of the year. That smashes 2023’s record-setting lead of 21%." ♻️ ⚡ https://lnkd.in/gNWqUsMd