This Week in Energy News: 12 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy energy industry press releases from PR Newswire, including plans for a renewable natural gas project in California and updates in EV charging.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the energy and natural resources industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. SoCalGas Files Application to Develop California's Largest Renewable Natural Gas Pilot Project, Turning Agricultural Waste into Fuel
   If approved, the project would be the largest RNG project in the state of California, producing up to 4.5 billion cubic feet of fuel each year from 400,000 to 500,000 tons of agricultural waste, some of which would otherwise be burned.
2. Redefining Green Transportation: New Federal Bill Boosts Wireless EV Charging Program
   The new law would create a dedicated grant program in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), providing funding for Wireless EV Charging projects. This includes $250 million in grants for Wireless EV Charging initiatives such as roads, parking lots, bus routes, airports, as well as coastal and inland ports.
3. EnergyHub and Tesla to support the Northeast's largest battery virtual power plant
   The new in-app experience makes joining utility programs frictionless for electricity customers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island who enroll in ConnectedSolutions, EnergyHub's largest bring-your-own-battery demand response program. The program links batteries to create a virtual power plant (VPP) that can be used to curb peak demand for electricity and to provide additional grid services.
4. Amid Clean-Energy Labor Shortage, Opis Renewables Secures Second Deal with Global Battery OEM to Provide Trained Technicians at BESS Project in Texas
   "This is the second deal with this OEM and our team is committed to delivering the highest level of expertise and support for the success of this BESS project. We are acutely aware of the shortage of qualified and trained wind, solar and storage technicians in the U.S. and Opis is working hard to fill the labor shortage gap within the renewables industry," said Robert Edinger, CEO of Opis Renewables.
5. America's Critical Infrastructure and Shift to Clean Energy a Matter of National Security?
   AmePower has made it their mission to develop cutting-edge inverter solutions that deliver exceptional performance and prioritize security and resilience with IBR technology that is 100% designed and manufactured in the USA.
6. LF Energy Research Finds Open Source Software is Driving Sustainability Innovation, Including Climate Technologies, Environmental Science, and Energy Efficiency
   "We see open source as a key, but largely neglected, driver for accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy," said Josh Hopkins, founding director of Open Corridor. "This is a challenge that both state and non-state actors alike can take steps to address. A key goal of this report is to help them understand what steps can be taken to further speed this transition through the use of open source."
7. Pennsylvanians Want Federal Investments to Advance the Clean Energy Economy
   A recent bipartisan statewide survey found that a majority of Pennsylvania voters and labor union households support gradually transitioning to 100% of energy being produced from clean and renewable sources over the next 15 years. 
8. DigiKey Debuts Factory Tomorrow Season 3 Video Series
   Sponsored by Schneider Electric and Panduit, the three-episode series will take a closer look at how powering production with alternative energy sources, sustainable operations and more are shaping the next major leap forward for manufacturing.
9. Treehouse Secures $10M to Bring EV Chargers Into Homes
   Treehouse is providing a home charging solution that allows EV owners to get an estimate in under two minutes and bundle home charging installation with the purchase of the best charger for each individual's budget and needs.
10. BKV and NuQuest Energy Announce Carbon Sequestration Agreement with the State of Louisiana
    Carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide, which reduces the amount of pollutive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Under the agreement, High West Sequestration, LLC will dispose of carbon dioxide waste from local emissions sources through permanent sequestration via injection wells on the designated acreage.
11. Jacobs to Manage Inland Empire Utilities Agency Recycled Water Program Expansion
    The program encompasses a series of new integrated water infrastructure projects, including intra-basin recycled water conveyance, groundwater injection and replenishment and an advanced water purification facility (AWPF) that will be able to produce up to 15,000 acre-feet per year of purified water for indirect potable reuse using groundwater augmentation, enough water for nearly 100,000 residents.
12. USA Rare Earth Announces Strategic Partnership with Hatch "The global transition towards cleaner, more sustainable energy solutions has sparked a surging demand for rare earth elements. These essential materials are key to propelling the world closer to a greener future," shared John Bianchini, CEO of Hatch.

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