The school year is well underway. Student transporters discuss tips to managing the hustle and bustle this time of year. Photo courtesy: Thomas Built Buses Cover design: Kimber Horne
Leadership takes the front page in this month’s issue as the school year rolls on and student transportation leaders tackle a variety of challenges to keep services running smoothly. Hear from the 2025 Top Transportation Team award winners on building strong workplace culture, find what keeps directors in their current roles and learn more about purchasing trends for transportation related technology. Read blogs on the power of influential leadership, prioritizing professional development and more.
Find the preview for the upcoming Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs (TSD) Conference to learn more about the speakers, topics and events coming to Texas on Nov. 6-11.
Rite of Passage
Students have gone back to school around the nation, and transportation directors share the challenges and solutions to keeping the school bus wheels going “round and round.”
Features
Small Moments, Big Impacts
Culture is the special sauce that drives the Top Transportation Teams award presented at STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada.
Purchasing Trends Fluctuate
With the new school year underway, school districts share their most wanted purchase items and the expected benefits of each new product or technology.
Special Reports
Follow the ‘Golden’ Brick Road
Department culture and administrative support are leading factors for keeping transportation leaders in their current role or prompting them to look elsewhere.
A pig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez.
He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes and incise them three or four times each. Check the nose and mouth for signs of disease — six to nine seconds to finish the inspection. Wash the gloves and sanitize the knives. One to two seconds to breathe.
Another head is already coming.
For a year and seven months, Lopez performed procedures like this for 10 hours a day, five to six days a week. It’s what he was trained for as a consumer safety inspector at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
“I would have my fingers start to lock up because I was gripping my knives too hard,” Lopez said. “Even though we kept ourselves at a high standard of being clean, I felt dirty, so I didn’t like to eat. It’s hard to stay hydrated, because if I had to take a drink, I had to take off my gloves, and I don’t have a lot of time to do that.”
At larger processing facilities, Lopez — who left his position in April — would help inspect thousands of animals a day for issues ranging from fecal matter to pathogens. The fast operation rates posed a challenge but were manageable, he said.
“I would say I had enough time,” Lopez said. “Did I have as much time as I wanted? No, absolutely not.”
Many swine and poultry plants across the U.S. are now increasing rates of processing and inspecting animals — or line speeds. The change is part of what government officials call a “modernized” inspection system, which also shifts carcass sorting duties from federal inspectors to company employees.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins makes her first official address to employees at the USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Feb.14, 2025. Four weeks later, she announced plans to make faster line speeds permanent for pork and poultry. (Paul Sale / USDA via Flickr)
In March, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to extend modernization waivers and to make faster line speeds a federal standard under President Trump’s second administration.
The move could permanently change the level of oversight FSIS inspectors have on the lines.
The USDA has said increasing line speeds will help companies meet growing demand without “excessive government interference,” according to a March release. Pork and poultry industry groups backed the announcement almost immediately, and one company official told Investigate Midwest that privatizing certain responsibilities allows for more in-house accountability during inspections.
However, critics of the change argue that federal inspectors play an essential role as independent watchdogs in privately run plants, and increasing line speeds with less federal oversight poses a significant risk to consumers, workers and animals.
Paula Soldner, national joint council chairperson of a FSIS inspectors’ union. (Courtesy of Paula Soldner)
“To put it simply, the plant will control every aspect of it with minimal oversight,” said Paula Soldner, national joint council chairperson of an FSIS inspectors’ union.
Shifts to modernization began in 1997 as FSIS permitted faster line speeds and fewer federal inspectors at a handful of swine and poultry slaughterhouses nationwide. In 2014, a new program began permitting poultry plants to modernize voluntarily, and an opt-in system for swine plants followed in 2019.
As of August, 168 poultry plants and 18 swine establishments have converted to modernized models. Waivers for two poultry facilities and four pork plants are currently pending.
At modernized poultry plants, line speed caps have risen from 140 to 175 birds per minute, and their swine counterparts face no line speed limits. All these establishments rely on their own employees to sort carcasses — the process of analyzing meat and trimming off defects — while government inspectors remain hands-off at the ends of the lines.
Though FSIS insists the modernized system keeps federal inspectors in charge, just with fewer physical responsibilities, The Washington Post reported in 2019 that inspection duties are shifting to private companies under modernization — if not on paper, then in practice.
At Wayne-Sanderson Farms, the nation’s third-largest poultry producer with over 26,000 employees, modernization efforts have led to a handoff of inspection responsibilities, according to Juanfra DeVillena, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety. He confirmed company personnel have taken over initial inspection tasks and are now in charge of ensuring quality, while federal inspectors continue to oversee food safety.
“FSIS is food safety inspection, and they were getting into areas that did not belong to them,” DeVillena said. “What FSIS did is they just switched their focus to what they should have always done, which is food safety, and put the quality oversight back into our operations.”
In a statement to Investigate Midwest, a USDA spokesperson maintained that modernization is backed by “science and common sense.”
“These reforms allow for greater efficiency while strengthening U.S. food production, reducing costs for producers and consumers, and supporting a more resilient supply chain,” the government spokesperson wrote.
‘Some of them can be sneaky’: Inspectors warn of food safety risks
From August 2023 to last April, Lopez worked as an inspector on and off the processing lines at 16 pork, poultry, beef or bison plants in three states. Multiple were modernized facilities, he said, including Pitman Farms, a Utah turkey establishment.
Christopher Lopez, former FSIS consumer safety inspector. (Courtesy of Christopher Lopez)
There, company personnel sorted the carcasses, and as a federal inspector, Lopez observed their actions and screened every bird at the end of the line.
There were benefits to this hands-off role, he said, like being able to “sit there and actually look at product and not have to focus on sharpening our knives.” That’s part of how FSIS framed the change in its modernization policy: By removing inspectors from hands-on duties, the agency said they could devote more time to evaluating carcasses online and completing offline verification tasks “that are more effective in ensuring food safety.”
But under the poultry modernization program, only one federal inspector is stationed on each processing line, responsible for reviewing all carcasses sorted by plant employees. And problems arose for Lopez when the workers he oversaw consistently outnumbered him five to one.
“Yes, we’re there, and we have the potential to see everything that’s going on, but in reality, it doesn’t always work out that way,” Lopez said. “You can’t look at five people and watch everything that they’re doing as well as pay attention to what you’re inspecting.”
To Lopez, the success of a plant’s modernization depends on staffing levels. If line speeds increase, so should the number of plant workers and federal inspectors to maintain food safety standards, he said.
A USDA spokesperson did not address questions from Investigate Midwest about how the agency enforces federal staffing standards at traditional plants, and how these regulations differ at modernized plants.
Soldner, of the FSIS inspectors’ union, has visited several modernized slaughterhouses over the past few years. She said she noticed no glaring food safety concerns because all the facilities were “adequately staffed.”
But even sufficient staffing may not be enough. According to Lopez, FSIS requires its inspectors to undergo “intensive” training prior to certification, where food safety is highlighted as the top priority. At the modernized plants where Lopez worked, he said private employees tasked with carcass sorting went through similar training, though he believes it was not nearly as rigorous.
FSIS does not mandate any standardized training for company sorters. The agency instead encourages companies to conduct independent training based on federal guidelines for both pork and poultry, which are derived from FSIS inspector training protocols.
At Wayne-Sanderson Farms, DeVillena said privately hired sorters undergo annual recertifications using an internal training manual developed from federal guidelines. The training includes classroom lectures, on-the-job training, follow-up sessions and continuous monitoring.
“I honestly don’t know the frequency in which the FSIS inspectors get trained, but I can tell you that for our group, it’s more strict because we own that process,” DeVillena said. “We gotta be able to defend it and validate it.”
But Wayne-Sanderson’s approach is not industry standard — or federally mandated. Critics say that flexibility is the problem. Without enforceable, uniform training requirements, each company can decide how thoroughly its workers are prepared to identify contamination and disease.
In public comments on the 2019 swine modernization policy, several advocacy groups urged FSIS to establish official training for company sorters. Even industry members requested that the agency improve existing training guidelines.
FSIS responded that its current guide was sufficient, and it would not be “prescribing specific sorter training or certification.” When Investigate Midwest asked why, the agency did not respond.
Adequate training only goes so far, Lopez said. In his experience, even if carcass sorters were well-trained, their priorities as private personnel may have leaned toward keeping the lines moving.
“Some of them can be sneaky about what they do,” Lopez said. In instances where he flagged a carcass for contamination but didn’t immediately take control of it, he said employees would sometimes make the contamination “mysteriously disappear” or mix the carcass in with others. “They might do it in the name of efficiency, but not necessarily in the name of food safety,” he added.
In response to Lopez’s experiences at modernized plants, DeVillena said the structure of modernized inspection systems at Wayne-Sanderson Farms makes it “impossible” to hide defects.
“Even if we wanted to do that, which we don’t want to, there’s no way for us to do that,” DeVillena said.
Juanfra DeVillena, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety for Wayne-Sanderson Farms. (Courtesy of Juanfra DeVillena)
DeVillena described two levels of FSIS oversight at his company: a carcass inspector stationed at the end of the line to catch external contamination like fecal matter, and a verification inspector who examines 10 carcasses in detail each hour, including internal checks, to make sure company employees do their jobs effectively. He emphasized that the latter inspector can open the carcasses, examine every surface and is not directly supervising the sorters’ work — but still has full access to verify product safety.
However, other inspectors have described experiences similar to those of Lopez. In April 2020, Jill Mauer, a federal consumer safety inspector, filed a declaration as part of a 2019 lawsuit against the USDA over its swine modernization policy. In it, Mauer said she’d been working at a modernized pork plant in Austin, Minnesota, for 23 years prior.
“I have witnessed slaughterhouse employees attempt to sneak defective carcasses past me,” her declaration stated. Diseased animals and defects like “toenails, hair, and abscesses are routinely allowed for human consumption” at the facility, Mauer wrote.
Part of the problem, she said, was the short inspection time. At the modernized plant in Minnesota, “inspectors have about two seconds per pig to identify pathology and fecal contamination,” Mauer stated. Investigate Midwest reached out to her for comment, but she declined to speak on the record.
Soldner, who worked as a FSIS inspector for 32 years prior to her full-time role at the inspectors’ union, said this window wasn’t nearly enough time for federal inspectors to spot hazards — even if private employees had already reviewed the carcasses.
The shrinking role of inspectors on pork and poultry lines reflect a fundamental shift in oversight, she said.
“When I came in in 1987, we regulated the industry,” Soldner told Investigate Midwest. “Now, industry regulates what FSIS inspectors have the ability to do.”
Industry groups defend modernization
Pork and poultry industries claim faster line speeds do not make food any less safe.
When the USDA announced its plans to formally increase line speeds in March, the National Chicken Council, a trade association representing U.S. chicken companies, voiced its support. In a March 17 release, the council cited a 2021 study concluding that faster line speeds do not predict higher salmonella contamination risk in young chicken processing plants.
In a statement to Investigate Midwest, Tom Super, the council’s senior vice president of public affairs, emphasized that modernization in poultry processing applies only to the speed of evisceration lines — the “highly automated” areas that involve organ removal, carcass cleaning and inspection.
“Food safety outcomes are not determined by the speed of the evisceration line,” Super wrote. Instead, he said, they depend on maintaining strict protocols, using science-backed safety measures and ensuring consistent oversight.
Investigate Midwest reached out to several other modernized swine and poultry companies for comment about faster line speeds and the reorganization of federal inspectors. None responded to multiple requests for comment.
For years, industry groups have lobbied for faster line speeds, records show.
In 2017, the National Chicken Council petitioned the government to permit faster line speeds in young chicken slaughterhouses. Shortly after, multiple trade associations and corporations shared nearly identical letters of support.
In the letters, industry groups — including the Ohio Poultry Association, the Indiana State Poultry Association, Wayne-Sanderson Farms (then Wayne Farms) and House of Raeford Farms — celebrated the petition as a step forward in “promoting and enhancing FSIS inspection procedures” and “increasing industry efficiency.”
Industry members wrote that they believe modernization would maintain food safety, citing a 2017 federal report that found no increase in salmonella contamination at modernized poultry plants.
“The data also demonstrated that inspectors are performing four times more off-line food safety verification tasks” in modernized plants than in their traditional counterparts, the letters stated.
In one letter, House of Raeford Farms — one of the top poultry producers nationwide — highlighted the “competitive disadvantage” of line speed caps. Plants in other countries like Canada operate at higher line speeds, the company wrote, so eliminating domestic line speed limits would “put U.S. producers on more equal footing.”
FSIS ultimately denied the National Chicken Council’s petition in January 2018, but said it intended to allow faster line speeds at young chicken plants that follow certain criteria “in the near future.” A month later, the agency published that criteria, permitting certain facilities to increase line speeds.
Now, under Trump’s second administration, faster line speeds are on track to become the new federal standard for both pork and poultry.
For plants with high daily outputs, Lopez, the former FSIS inspector, said that faster lines and shifting federal oversight could lead to food safety risks. But he sees potential in modernized systems, he said, especially at facilities that maintain sufficient staff and don’t overwhelm them with thousands of animals a day.
“I think that some of the medium-sized establishments really could benefit from it,” Lopez said. “The large establishments just kind of take advantage of it.”
Is speed or staffing to blame for increased worker injury?
Data shows that meatpacking and poultry companies are among the most dangerous industries in America.
Many workers and advocates say faster line speeds increase risk of injury. Jose Oliva — campaigns director at HEAL Food Alliance, a coalition of food and farm system workers — called the change a “total travesty” for plant employees. Prior to HEAL, Oliva served as director of the Food Chain Workers Alliance, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers in the food system.
“Even though you are wearing protective equipment, that does not give you 100% protection,” Oliva said. “If (workers are) injured or cut themselves, if the injury is not too deep, they just continue to work. The line just keeps moving.”
A policy brief from Johns Hopkins University supports this conclusion, according to Patti Truant Anderson, the brief’s author.
“What we found in our review of literature was that there’s strong evidence that line speeds are associated with higher worker perceptions of injury risk, so they feel like it’s more unsafe when they’re made to work at these higher line speeds,” said Anderson, who is policy director at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Her analysis also found that line speeds are associated with “lower worker well-being and higher injury risk from repetitive tasks,” she said.
Several reports by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency, highlight these concerns. The assessments, published between 2005 and 2017, repeatedly note stakeholder concerns about worker safety with faster line speeds. When asked if GAO is investigating modernization in light of Rollins’ recent announcement, public affairs specialist Jasmine Berry Franklin told Investigate Midwest the agency has “nothing currently in the works.”
The National Chicken Council, however, points to results from the January study on poultry workers, which suggest no associations between evisceration line speeds and MSD risk. The identical study on swine workers found conflicting evidence: Faster evisceration lines were linked to an increase in MSD risk at one facility and a decrease at another.
In the statement to Investigate Midwest, the USDA spokesperson cited the same studies, concluding “no direct link between line speeds and workplace injuries.” The agency’s March 17 announcement to formalize faster line speeds also halted any further collection of worker safety data from modernized plants, calling the information “redundant.”
According to Carisa Harris — principal investigator of both studies and director of the Northern California Center of Occupational and Environmental Health — evisceration line speeds aren’t the main determinant of worker safety.
Instead, she said, the critical metric is piece rate: the number of animal parts handled per minute by each individual worker. While evisceration line speeds measure the speed at which the lines move in one stage of processing, piece rate takes into account both line speeds and staffing levels to determine the individual workload of each employee throughout the entire process.
Both studies found a correlation between MSD risk and piece rate.
“There’s been so much attention on evisceration line speed, and our hope is that the conversation changes because that’s not the variable that’s going to help protect workers,” Harris said. “If we can talk about piece rate by area or by job, that would be a much more productive conversation to have.”
The two studies weren’t without limitations. One, as Harris called it, was “healthy worker survivor bias” — the tendency for results to reflect only workers healthy enough to continue on.
“Those who left employment due to work-related pain or the inability to keep up with the high pace of work were underrepresented,” the poultry report stated. The swine study echoed this limitation.
Debbie Berkowitz, who served as chief of staff at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2009 to 2014, said she believes evaluated plants may have also added staff during the study period to reduce individual workloads while under observation.
“Because (the plants) knew they were being studied, they added workers to jobs, which meant that nobody was working harder and faster in the key jobs that they studied,” Berkowitz told Investigate Midwest.
The USDA spokesperson did not respond to a question about this phenomenon, but Harris acknowledged it was a concern — that plants may have temporarily improved working conditions during the study. However, she said her team regularly interviewed workers to assess whether the conditions they experienced during the studies matched their usual work environments. According to Harris, “very few” reported any differences.
Lori Stevermer, a Minnesota pork producer and immediate past president of the National Pork Producers Council, reiterated that “increased line speeds are not a leading factor in worker safety” in a statement to Investigate Midwest.
Super, of the National Chicken Council, said unsafe line speeds would be counterproductive for the industry itself.
“If line speeds are set too fast, then tasks will not be performed properly and the result will be a costly de-valuing of the final poultry products,” Super wrote in the statement. “No benefit exists for plant management to operate production lines at speeds that are unsafe, and will not permit all work to be performed at high levels of skill and competence.”
Where efficiency meets animal welfare
Slaughterhouse operations are systematic. Animals undergo a step-by-step process that stuns, scalds, removes organs, washes, cuts and chills in a highly efficient fashion.
However, protocol can go awry for a variety of reasons, ranging from worker error to machinery malfunction. And animal welfare advocates allege that it has, especially at modernized swine and poultry plants with increasing line speeds and shifting federal oversight.
Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at the Vermont Law and Graduate School. (Courtesy of Delcianna Winders)
Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, said that faster line speeds result in more inhumane practices.
“Animals who are not keeping pace with the line are handled violently by workers who are just trying to keep up,” Winders told Investigate Midwest. This involves “increased dragging of animals, hitting of animals and excessive electroshocking” leading up to slaughter, she said.
Concerns like these helped fuel a 2019 lawsuit filed by Winders and a group of animal welfare organizations, challenging the USDA’s swine modernization program. The lawsuit alleged, among other claims, that increasing line speeds and shifting responsibility from federal inspectors to slaughterhouse employees jeopardize humane handling.
“Even downed pigs — animals too sick or injured to walk — were handled in this way, because, according to a supervisor, they ‘don’t have time’ to handle them more humanely,” the lawsuit stated.
As part of the court case, advocates and inspectors submitted a series of declarations about personal experiences with modernization. One testimony came from Mauer, the consumer safety inspector who raised food safety concerns about her modernized pork plant in Austin, Minnesota.
Mauer wrote that on multiple occasions, she noticed pig carcasses with water-filled lungs from the scald tank — a stage in the slaughter process where animals should be dead.
“While there are a few reasons why tank water in the lungs may occur, tank water in hogs’ lungs is an indication that pigs were possibly still breathing at the time they entered the scalding tank,” her declaration stated.
Improper execution at slaughterhouses isn’t a new complaint. In 2013, the Washington Post reported that nearly 1 million birds were boiled alive in U.S. poultry plants every year, based on USDA data. This was in part due to rapid line speeds, which can result in unsuccessful slaughter prior to scald tank immersion, the article found.
But Super, of the National Chicken Council, maintained that modernization only changes the speeds of post-mortem evisceration lines. Leading up to and during slaughter, Super said, chicken processors consider animal welfare “the top priority,” and they “strictly adhere” to federal guidelines for humane handling.
Advocates remain critical. Michael Windsor — senior corporate engagement director at The Humane League, a nonprofit working to end farmed animal abuse — told Investigate Midwest in a statement that faster line speeds in any stage of processing add pressure to the entire system.
“Any increase in line speeds — pre- or post-mortem — create a dangerous ripple effect that increases suffering for animals and hazards for workers,” Windsor stated.
He added that consumers likely have a “limited sense” of what goes on behind closed doors at modernized plants.
“When people think about food safety or animal welfare, they don’t necessarily picture the exhausted workers racing to keep pace with hundreds of birds per minute or the animals being improperly stunned and boiled alive,” Windsor wrote. “This lack of awareness isn’t accidental. The meat industry operates in secrecy, and USDA policies — like allowing company employees to replace federal inspectors — only deepen the opacity.”
Four years after the 2019 lawsuit, the judge dismissed the case and upheld the federal swine modernization program. In a December 2023 ruling, the court found that FSIS had adequately considered humane handling impacts, which was all the law required.
Winders said she believes courts generally defer to the judgment of administration agencies like the USDA.
“It’s very hard to prevail against an agency because everything is going to be interpreted in their favor,” she said.
Winders and her team stand firm on one claim, arguing modernization reduces federal oversight and endangers animal welfare. They’ve appealed the ruling, and an oral argument is approaching in the next few months. With formal laws on the horizon, Winders said issues surrounding modernization are only growing more critical — not just due to risks to animals, but also to workers and consumers.
“It’s hard to disentangle the animal welfare concerns and human safety concerns,” she told Investigate Midwest. “They’re really intertwined.”
Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom with a mission to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit online at www.investigatemidwest.org.
Wow, I learned a lot last month at the STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada. Over 1,000 school transportation professionals joined a dynamic convergence of training, networking and innovation while exploring cutting-edge solutions, sharing best practices, and inspiring transformative change in school transportation.
Among the standout moments were keynote addresses by Jon Petz, the “Amazement Artist,” and Jim Schiffler, a veteran transportation leader. Together, their insights provided actionable strategies for fostering engagement, leadership and operational excellence
The Transportation Director Summit in Lake Tahoe featured Petz’s “Rules of Amazement,” a framework for transforming mundane interactions into meaningful, memorable experiences. During his four-part executive leadership workshop, Petz explored personal branding, the power of focus versus perspective, and embracing simple solutions. His presentation resonated deeply with school transportation leaders, emphasizing the profound impact of small, intentional actions, when every moment with students, parents or colleagues matters.
Two days later, Petz delivered his keynote address to the full conference on “Igniting Significance Through Simple Moments,” weaving a unique blend of business leadership,
inspiration and magical entertainment.
Petz opened with a personal, childhood story about learning a magic trick from his father, a fleeting moment that forged a lasting emotional connection. He also shared a memory of his own school bus driver, Mr. Pope, whose kindness left an indelible mark. Petz challenged attendees to ask themselves, “Do I perform to create an amazing moment, or do I perform just enough to get by?” This question struck a chord in an industry often fraught with stress and high stakes, urging professionals to reimagine their daily touch-points. These can be greeting a student, resolving a parent’s concern, or mentoring a colleague.
He shared another story about performing magic for a critically ill child named Nathan, illustrating how saying “yes” to a single opportunity created a transformative moment. Petz distributed seven of hearts cards to the audience, symbolizing his hope to reconnect with Nathan’s family someday, and encouraged attendees to seize similar moments in their work. Petz’s presentation moved the audience to tears and ended with a standing ovation.
The message was clear. Safety and trust are paramount in school transportation. Small acts of connection can build engaged, passionate teams and foster lasting trust with communities. Petz left attendees inspired to elevate their performance and create wow moments that drive team morale and student safety.
The next day’s keynote by Jim Schiffler, retired president of Minnesota bus dealer North Central Bus & Equipment, delivered a compelling session based on his book, “Stepping Up: From Valued Employee to Supervisor.” Schiffler addressed the complex challenges of transitioning a valued employee into a supervisory role, a common hurdle for school transportation professionals moving into leadership positions. His session provided actionable insights for identifying and nurturing the next generation of leaders in
an industry facing driver shortages and evolving operational demands. The insights were particularly relevant in addressing the challenge of promoting drivers and support
staff into supervisory roles while maintaining team cohesion and operational efficiency.
Schiffler emphasized the importance of organizational culture, drawing from his success in creating environments where employees feel safe, respected and valued. He said talented individuals are often dissuaded from stepping into leadership roles out of fear they are not “good enough.” He offered a roadmap for overcoming these doubts, focusing on practical steps to build confidence and competence. Schiffler’s strategies included fostering open communication, recognizing individual contributions and aligning personal growth with organizational goals.
Schiffler’s session highlighted the need for intentional mentorship and training to prepare employees to lead. He shared real-world examples, illustrating how empowering
employees to “make a difference” not only boosts morale but also enhances safety and service quality. His approach resonated with attendees tasked with managing diverse
teams under tight budgets and regulatory pressures. He offered a blueprint for cultivating leaders able to navigate the industry’s unique challenges.
The transformative power of leadership and connection in school transportation inspired attendees to harness simple moments and to build trust and engagement, directly impacting student experiences and team dynamics. Petz’s and Schiffler’s insights offered strategies to enhance safety, improve operations and foster a culture of purpose and excellence. By applying these lessons, school transportation professionals can drive meaningful change that benefit their students.
We all have the power to transform simple everyday tasks into significant and impactful contributions. Encourage and empower your team to be what Petz called, “Showtime Ready.” This is a trusted method of achieving peak performance and driving toward a shared goal of student success.
Editor’s Note: As reprinted from the August 2025 issue of School Transportation News
Jack Link’s, the world’s largest manufacturer of meat snacks, has spent years integrating itself into the country’s cultural and political arenas.
Riding a wave of protein-crazed consumers and a booming snack industry, the company’s iconic Sasquatch marketing campaign has helped its products become a staple in gas stations, grocery checkout lines and school vending machines.
The company has also spent years cultivating deep political ties, funneling millions to Donald Trump and nurturing a relationship with the president that has led to White House access.
Trump has been a strong supporter of the meat industry and welcomed Jack Link’s officials to a White House event during his first term. However, the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement is currently pushing for healthier eating standards and for states to restrict processed foods in their nutrition programs.
Now, Jack Link’s and the processed meat industry are caught between conflicting ideologies within the Trump administration and a battle over the future of food policy.
“There’s very much a conflict within this administration about the role of corporate power and public health,” said Judith McGeary, executive director of the Texas-based sustainable agriculture and farmer advocacy group Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.
In May, the federal MAHA commission, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recommended in a new report that Americans consume fewer sugary drinks, snacks and processed foods.
While the report didn’t specifically mention processed meat snacks, it grabbed the attention of snack giants like Jack Link’s and other corporate agriculture groups, which are opposed to any additional regulations or changes to the food industry, McGeary said.
The report did note that low-income children and families consume more processed meat than their peers and that these products have been classified as carcinogens linked to serious health risks.
Kennedy, along with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, has encouraged states to restrict what foods can be purchased with benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
States, from West Virginia to California, have responded by approving bans that limit purchases of sugary beverages, snacks and foods with dyes and artificial ingredients.
Jack Link’s responded by hiring a lobbying firm, a move that paid off when it faced increased regulations during Trump’s first term.
Jack Link’s benefits from political, consumer trends
Minong, Wisconsin — a small, rural village in the state’s northwestern tip, home to taverns, gravel roads, rows of northern Wisconsin pine trees, and plenty of grazing land for beef cattle — is one of dozens of small towns across the state with roots in the cattle and lumber industries.
Minong is also home to a bigfoot-sized footprint of Jack Link’s that is hard to ignore.
Jack Link’s, owned by Link Snacks, is a $2 billion, privately owned company with dual headquarters in Minong and downtown Minneapolis, a few hours away.
Jack Link’s has dual corporate headquarters in Minong, Wis., and Minneapolis, pictured here on July 3, 2025. (Steven Garcia for Investigate Midwest)
The company employs roughly 4,000 people worldwide. Jack Link’s leadership has long served on local college and hospital boards and, in 2016, broke ground for the Jack Link’s Aquatic & Activity Center in Minong.
What started in the late 1980s as a family-owned jerky company has evolved into a global enterprise with offices and production plants in Canada, Australia, Mexico and Brazil.
Troy Link, son of company founder and current board member John “Jack” Link, has led the company’s global expansion since he became CEO in 2013.
Link has also developed a relationship with the Trump administration over the years by hosting private fundraising events and donating to his campaigns.
Last year, Link also donated half a million dollars to America PAC, a political action committee founded and operated by Elon Musk, according to Federal Elections Committee filings.
This donation placed Link among a highly influential group of donors and prominent technology and cryptocurrency industry moguls, such as Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
Link donated $1.3 million during Trump’s 2020 re-election bid and also welcomed the president to a private fundraiser in July 2020 at his Florida mansion.
As a whole, the Link family has donated roughly $2.3 million to candidates, committees and state parties in the last decade. The majority of this occurred during the 2020 and 2024 Trump campaigns.
In 2018, the company was invited to the White House as part of a “Made In America” exhibition, where each state showcased a single business with products made in the country.
Troy Link did not respond to repeated requests for comment regarding the relationship of Jack Link’s and the Trump administration.
This relationship with politicians has served the company in the past. In Trump’s first term, Jack Link’s lobbied for beef jerky and meat snack sticks to qualify for the nation’s Child Nutrition Programs, such as school meals.
An Obama-era rule prohibited the reimbursement of beef jerky and dried meat products for school food purchases in 2011. When the rules were revisited under Trump in 2018, Jack Link’s argued in documents submitted to the USDA that dried meat products should receive the same crediting and treatment as other meat, like hamburgers and chicken strips.
“These food products should be held to the same standard as any other meat product when determining eligibility,” a Jack Link’s attorney wrote. “Currently, this is not the case because USDA has arbitrarily disqualified dried meat products from the program.”
A bipartisan trio of Wisconsin federal officials came to the aid of Jack Link’s during this regulatory update, with Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and former Congressman and current U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy writing in support of this change soon after.
“We are concerned that (Food and Nutrition Service) has overstepped in excluding this entire product class from consideration,” the officials wrote in a February 2018 letter. “Therefore, we respectfully request USDA to reevaluate this categorical exclusion.”
Link family members donated a combined $73,000 to the authors of the letter.
The lobbying effort worked. The Food and Nutrition Service announced in December 2018 that beef jerky and dried meat products were now eligible for reimbursement as part of school snacks and meals. Jack Link’s currently markets its snacks directly to school food purchasers.
The addition of school contracts and other market growth helped fuel the company’s expansion.
In recent years, Jack Link’s has broken ground on new manufacturing facilities across the country and purchased jerky companies from Tyson Foods and British packaged goods giant Unilever.
The company also launched Lorissa’s Kitchen, a healthy meat snack brand fronted by Troy’s spouse, Lorissa, and sold at Walmart and Costco nationwide. The brand differentiates itself from Jack Link’s by selling snacks “without added preservatives, nitrites or MSG and allergen-free products,” according to company media statements.
During the 2024 Republican National Convention, Link also appeared on a Fox News business segment to argue that inflation under Biden was making it more expensive for consumers to purchase snacks.
“Buying snacks should not be a luxury item; this should be an everyday occurrence,” Link said. “We just need to put more money back into the consumer’s pocket.”
Protein snacks boom amid calls to reduce meat consumption
As Jack Link’s worked to build a close relationship with the Trump administration, meat consumption was booming, especially thanks to right-wing influencers.
Online personalities, such as podcast hosts Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson, have advocated for all-meat diets, including raw meat and eggs.
The connection between meat consumption and conservative politics dates back decades, according to food studies researcher Adrienne Bitar.
“Higher meat consumption has always been understood as sort of more conservative,” said Bitar, author of “Diet and the Disease of Civilization.”
“Where it comes up in the alt-right is the idea that the feminizing effects of civilization are unnatural, restrictive, repressive, and to liberate yourself from the accoutrements of civilization means to follow your appetite, with the hunger for meat being one of those appetites.”
Meat snacks sales increased 40% from 2019 to 2022, according to an industry report. The desire for more protein-dense snacks has risen across the entire food sector, from protein-packed popcorn to chocolate muffins.
However, the nation’s protein consumption far outpaces that of similar nations and needs to be reassessed, according to grocery experts and leading nutritionists.
“Unless you’re a competitive athlete or competitive bodybuilder, you’re probably eating too much protein,” said Errol Schweizer, publisher of The Checkout Grocery Update, a grocery industry publication, and former vice president of grocery for the multinational supermarket Whole Foods.
As protein rises in popularity among consumers, many nutritionists say Americans need more fruits and vegetables in their diet. (Mónica Cordero / Investigate Midwest)
Schweizer said the popularity of protein snacks has ebbed and flowed with American consumers, following the trends of certain diets and lifestyles over the past few decades. U.S. consumers are “obsessed” with protein intake, he said, and typically have diets that consist of fewer fresh fruits, vegetables, fiber and healthy fats.
Schweizer’s observations align with the nation’s blueprint for diet and nutrition.
Updated every five years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans helps shape national standards for nutrition labeling, school meals and chronic disease prevention.
In October 2024, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a 20-person group of nutrition experts, released its recommended updates to both the USDA and the HHS. Now those two agencies will review recommendations and public comments to set the final dietary guidelines later this year.
Since 2000, the panel has consistently urged Americans to cut back on red and processed meats in favor of lean meat, seafood and plant-based proteins.
The committee’s 2024 report recommends diets “lower in red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, refined grains and saturated fats.”
The country’s leading meat industry group, The Meat Institute, whose members include Jack Link’s and other major meatpacking and meat snack companies, has argued against the committee’s recommendations.
“The Meat Institute is extremely concerned that consumers will inaccurately perceive meat and poultry products as poor dietary choices, which may lead to a variety of unintended consequences, including nutritional deficiencies in certain sub-populations,” the Virginia-based group wrote to the HHS in February.
The National Pork Board, the pork checkoff organization based in Clive, Iowa, wrote to the health department in February, stating that recommendations to reduce consumption of red meats are short-sighted and efforts to push foods such as legumes and beans over meats “does not seem to be supported by a robust body of evidence.”
“The elevation of plant-based protein sources over lean meats could inadvertently discourage the consumption of nutrient-dense lean meats, thus increasing the risk of nutritional deficiencies,” the letter stated.
In its inaugural report, the MAHA Commission wrote that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has a “history of being unduly influenced by corporate interests,” noting how a past attempt to reduce the push for reducing intake of processed meats has been met with backlash and scientific discrediting from the meat industry.
Processed food industry fortifies as feds debate SNAP, diet guidelines
In late June, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, flanked by Kennedy in the state capitol, announced a sweeping set of executive orders to remove processed foods and foods with additives from the state’s nutrition programs.
“For far too long, we have settled for food that has made us sicker as a nation,” said Stitt at a June press event. “In Oklahoma, we’re choosing common sense, medical freedom, and personal responsibility. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have led the charge nationally; I’m grateful for their support as we Make Oklahoma Healthy Again.”
Other states have followed suit with Arkansas, Indiana, West Virginia and California enacting bans on processed foods from SNAP purchases, or are exploring ways to reduce ultra-processed foods in the state, often with the support of Kennedy and Rollins and other federal leaders.
However, Joelle Johnson, deputy director for the food and nutrition consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, said despite growing debates about ultra-processed foods in the nation’s food programs, there is a lack of clear guidance from the federal government to retailers and food purchasers about what would and wouldn’t qualify as being ultra-processed.
“I would be surprised if we see bans of ultra-processed foods in SNAP, beyond candy and sweetened beverages, anytime soon,” she said.
Still, major snack and processed food companies, including Jack Link’s, are bracing for any changes that could harm their sales.
The Jack Link’s corporate headquarters as seen on July 3, 2025. (Steven Garcia for Investigate Midwest)
Consumer Brands Association, a Virginia-based organization representing major packaged food companies, including Tyson Foods and Coca-Cola, spent $42 million in lobbying over the past decade, focusing on issues including SNAP funding and dietary guidelines, among other issues.
Since 2023, the organization has worked with lobbyist Clete Willems, the deputy assistant of international economics during Trump’s first term and a former Obama administration official, according to lobbying disclosure documents.
Conagra Brands, the publicly traded, packaged food conglomerate that owns major brands such as Slim Jims, Orville Redenbacher, Birds Eye Frozen Foods and Reddi-Wip, spent over half a million dollars in the past year lobbying federal officials and has spent $4.6 million in lobbying in the past decade. Conagra and Consumer Brands Association did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
In April, Link Snacks, the parent company of Jack Link’s, hired lobbying firm Bockorny Group, which has also represented the meatpacking company Agri-Beef Co. and pork industry publication National Hog Farmer. This was the first time the beef jerky giant has lobbied federal officials.
Lobbyists working for Jack Link’s include Pete Lawson, a former VP for Ford Motors and staff attorney for Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran, and Eric Bohl, a former staffer for the congressional offices of Missouri Republicans Vicky Hartzler and Jason Smith, who worked on the 2014 Farm Bill.
This year, Link Snacks has spent $25,000 on lobbying the federal government to support “protein snacks in SNAP program” as well as issues with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, according to lobbying disclosure documents.
I loved the Green Bus Summit at STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada. Of course I did. I’m an extrovert, an electric school bus (ESB) nerd ever hungry to learn new things, and I grew up in a desert. This was my sixth STN EXPO conference, and the third I’ve covered for STN as a writer specializing in ESB related topics.
That said, some things not discussed at the Green Bus Summit, at least not officially, are as pressing as the topics that are more popular and comfortable. I’ll get to those in a minute. On the lighter side, part of covering a conference is just listening in general (some might call this eavesdropping). I overheard at the opening reception: “Right, we are not pro-electric, we’re sitting back and letting everybody else work through all the problems before we do anything.”
I get it. If I was already working hard and wouldn’t be paid extra for taking the risks of the ESB path, maybe I’d stay with the status quo of fossil-fueled buses, too. The people running ESBs, though, look as wide-awake, alive and happy as anyone I’ve ever met. And John Wyskiel, president and CEO of Blue Bird, stated that students who ride ESBs arrive at school calmer and more ready to learn.
Technology in general, STN Chief Content Officer Ryan Gray noted, is an increasing theme for the school bus industry. New technology always carries risk. Henry Ford had failures. Diesel was once new and iffy. I liked STN President Tony Corpin’s story of when his parents, Bill and Colette Paul, were starting the magazine up in 1991. Its success was not assured. Blue Bird (and others) gave them a check, a year’s advertising in advance, for the fledgling publication. Their investment implied, “We trust you.” The magazine flourished.
In contrast, the districts that trusted and invested in Lion Electric regret it.
(A few days and after I returned home from Reno, a colleague forwarded me the letter that the newly purchased Lion sent out U.S. owners of Lion Electric school buses. It states their warranties are now void. ESB advocacy groups CALSTART, the Alliance for Electric School Buses and World Resources Institute are working to support Lion owners.)
We heard a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) growing rapidly in the school bus world, but little mention of its enormous use of electricity and water. That’s problematic in that power outages and prolonged droughts are on the rise, especially in the West (we were sitting in a Western desert). Should we automatically use AI without limits? Or do we choose how to use it? And do we see ESBs as not just using electricity, but also being able to feed energy back into the grid (V2G), or, more locally and with simpler technology, into a school building during a power outage (V2B)?
First-time STN EXPO attendee Clarissa Castrowore native Navajo dress at the trade show (we were told to dress up). She drives long rural routes for Window Rock Unified School District in Arizona. Window Rock is the capital of the Navajo Nation’s reservation. Castro said, “I like the conference a lot! We have too many-stop arm violations. We need to update our technology.”
For the record, I do not think ESBs are for everybody. For example, I don’t think Window Rock Unified School District in Arizona should pursue them. About 30 percent of residences on the Navajo reservation don’t have electricity yet. I’d think addressing that is a top priority. Literacy rates go up when homes gain electricity (being an ESB nerd makes you an energy nerd, as well).
Jessica Sevilla, director of fleet and facilities at Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency in Southern California, runs 230 school buses, 41 of them electric. “The leap between the worlds [from fossil-fueled to electric] is larger than we’d thought. Mechanics are learning to reach for laptops instead of wrenches.”
She emphasized training and said employee openness to ESBs depended partly on “where they’re at in their careers.” In other words, those earlier in their careers may be more open to learning new skills. Other panelists agreed that ESB driving skill has an enormous impact on range. A feather-foot that maximizes regenerative braking can add dozens of miles of range over the course of a day.
Charles Kriete, CEO of Zonar, told us our business is access to education, not necessarily transportation. I’d call that a paradigm shift. In keeping with Kriete’s declaration, Billy Huish, from rural Farmington Municipal Schools in New Mexico, told me he created an extended classroom by providing 71,000 hours of Wi-Fi, so far, to students on his 68 buses.
“What about TikTok?” I asked anxiously. Absolutely blocked, he assured me.
Speaking of anxiety, Kriete said parent calls are reduced by 50 percent when they can use an app to see where their child is. I’ve never fielded a concerned parent’s call, but I can imagine the urgency of resolving where the child is, the rising intensity if it takes too long, and both parents’ and dispatchers’ desires to have fewer such calls.
But even if a school district can afford the best ridership verification technology (many can’t), quota-driven ICE raids, with schools and school bus stops no longer protected from them, may lead to children going missing, or maybe more likely, their parents being abruptly swept away, unable to pick up their children. That’s a harrowing thought, especially with due process going missing, in general. Stay with me.
Transportation directors had plenty to say on this topic, on condition of anonymity, that is. One knew of children dropping out of school and afraid to leave the house after relatives were abruptly deported. The families stay quiet because they don’t want to be targeted. Another has children no longer riding the school bus because parents are fearful of ICE.
They still attend school, if their parents can drive them (not all can).
One transportation director, whose district’s policy is for employees to not surrender children to ICE agents, told me his district’s attorneys were unable to answer the following question he posed to them: “Are you making it a job requirement of my bus drivers to defy ICE agents and risk being taken away, themselves? Because some of them have kids at home who’re depending on them.”
I looked steadily, uncomfortably, into my colleague’s eyes. “We’re in uncharted territory,” he told me.
I found that staff with ESBs can be all over the map on how engaged they are with them. One transportation director had received his first two ESBs, but no idea whether he had Level 2 or Level 3 charging. Tracking your charging saves much money, as noted by Bobby Stafford, Anthony Ashley and Craig Beaver in the session, “What You Need To Know About Working With Your Utility.”
Beaver, administrator of transportation at Beaverton School District near Portland, Oregon, was STN’s Transportation Director of the Year in 2024. He reported that when he moved his ESBs from peak charging to off-peak charging, his monthly electricity bills went from $50,000 to $60,000 per month to $30,000 per month.
He advocated for vehicle to building (V2B) as opposed to vehicle to grid (V2G). He cited MOVER (Microgrid Opportunities: Vehicles Enhancing Resiliency) project (disclosure: I am among the partners in this project) in Hood River, Oregon. Beaver sees V2G as needing more time to develop. The most successful V2G program is run by Zum for Oakland Unified School District in California. Zum reports 75 ESBs are discharging 2.1 gigawatts back into the Pacific Gas and Electric grid annually, enough to power 300 homes for a year.
In contrast to the Zum V2G project, V2B projects would be under local control. Beaver is building a microgrid with Portland General Electric, his utility, that he reported has been excellent to work with. Ashley, the director of fleet for Atlanta Public Schools, reported a “less flowery experience” with Georgia Electric He advised his peers to do their research before signing a contract with their utility.
Beaver floated the idea of a Fire Relief Center for his microgrid, fueled in part by his ESBs. Heat is by far the most fatal form of extreme weather, and children are more vulnerable to extreme heat than adults. My Tedx talk on ESBs dramatizes a heat-dome scenario in which ESBs discharge energy into a community resilience center, cooling people in an outage, potentially saving lives.
Reno itself was just named the fastest warming city in the U.S. for the second year in a row. Were you out there, sweating along with me at the Ride and Drive? Can you imagine the air conditioning at the Reno conference failing for even a day? I suggest we start to imagine it. Power outages are growing nationwide as temperatures keep rising, energy loads keep growing, and the aging electric grid falters.
I do not sell ESBs or push them on anyone. I think keeping kids in school, safely learning and growing, is our core mission. I do suggest that accessing the motherlode of energy housed in our nation’s 5,000 electric school buses is a good additional mission, in our increasingly hot, anxious, energy-hungry country.
Alison Wiley is a transportation electrification professional who helps bus fleets make the transition from diesel to electric. She produces the the Electric School Bus Newsletter and gave a TedTalk last year that advocates for the use of electric school buses as a tool of equity and inclusion. She is based in Portland, Oregon.
While the immediate future remains uncertain on federal emissions regulations and funding, school bus OEMs say they are prepared with varied solutions going forward to meet the needs of every customer, no matter the fuel or where they operate.
That was the key takeaway from a July 13 panel at STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada. The OEM representatives on stage were Francisco Lagunas, general manager of North America Bus for Cummins; Jim Crowcroft, general sales manager for Thomas Built Buses; Katie Stok, product marketing and commercial readiness for IC Bus; Frank Girardot, the PR, marketing and government relations leader at RIDE; and Brad Beauchamp, EV product segment leader for Blue Bird. The session attempted to provide some clarity to the ever-changing funding and fuel landscape.
“The only certainty is that everything is so uncertain,” Lagunas punctuated during the “The Engines & Emissions Pathway Forward” session, facilitated by School Transportation News Editor-in-Chief Ryan Gray.
Lagunas added that Cummins is seeing an increased demand in diesel, confirming that the new B6.7 octane engine will be available in January. Though, he noted that investments in electric batteries and drive systems have not slowed down. Accelera, the zero-emissions division of Cummins, is a member of a joint venture with Daimler Truck North America and Paccar to create a U.S.-based battery cell manufacturer, Amplify Cell Technologies.
Crowcroft agreed, adding that one year has made a huge difference in industry focus. Several of the same panelists sat on a similar panel last year at STN EXPO, where he said EV was the focus of the industry.
“Now, it’s been a complete 180 [degree turn] this year,” he shared, adding that the industry has spent too much time talking about EVs and not enough time talking about the other offerings.
This year has been about being diverse, being nimble and ready to adapt to change when necessary. “What is the most practical plan?” he asked, noting that diesel technology has advanced and EV fatigue is setting in.
He shared that Thomas is not telling customers what fuel or energy type to use but instead empowering them to choose what works best for their fleets. Noting the Trump administration’s relaxation of a federal push for zero-emission vehicles, Crowcroft said there has been a sigh of relief from customers for not feeling like they have to purchase electric school buses.
He noted that with all the changes and technologies, it puts more pressure on the OEMs to keep up. He said Thomas is committed to investing in quality, citing that ahead of the 2027 GHG Phase 3 regulations targeting lower NOx (the EPA currently has it on hold pending a proposal to remove GHG regulations), school districts might want to pre-buy within the next 12 months to avoid cost increases tied to the new technology.
Beauchamp said Blue Bird has always focused on a fuel-agnostic path for its customers, and the company plans on continuing with propane being a low emission source. While he said Blue Bird had yet to see EV order cancellations as of last month, he anticipates those orders will flatten. Regardless, Blue Bird is committed to EV, noting an $80 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy last year (and double that amount in company matching funds) to build a new Type D electric school bus plant.
He noted that while the supply chain has improved coming out of COVID-19, “We’re not out of the words on it, yet,” he said.
Stok noted that the industry conversation should not be about low costs but having a supplier that delivers good quality on time. She noted that, like the other OEMs, EV is still very much part of the IC Bus product portfolio, as is diesel. However, she said the change in federal regulations will usher in changing order preferences across the industry, noting that IC is reintroducing its own gasoline school bus with the upcoming Cummins engine.
For the remainder of 2025, she said IC Bus is on track to have the highest production output from its Tulsa, Oklahoma plant. Communication is key right now, she added, and the manufacturer is working with its dealer network to listen to the customers and continue to improve.
Meanwhile, Girardot said it’s too early to predict what the future holds but BYD electric school bus company RIDE believes it holds a promise to furthering the deployment of EVs and enhancing the capabilities of vehicle to grid technology. He noted that V2G holds value and is something that communities need to consider. He highlighted success stories of V2G, such as in the Oakland Unified School District in California.
Girardot added that technician training on electric school buses is a must.
Additionally, RIDE announced a range extension on its blade battery, which took home the Best Green Technology, as judged by attendees at the STN EXPO West Trade Show Innovation Awards. Girardot added RIDE, too, received a competitive grant to expand its manufacturing facility.
RENO, Nev. — Jim Schiffler, a veteran transportation industry leader, dissected the complex challenges of leadership promotion based on his book “Stepping Up: From Valued Employee to Supervisor.”
Schiffler was literally born into the school bus industry as his father owned a school bus contracting business. He later led two school bus contractor and dealership operations in Minnesota and South Dakota.
“Stepping Up,” which he said is being utilized by multiple organizations as a leadership development resource, is based off his decades of experience in business. It identifies five critical mistakes organizations consistently make when promoting employees to supervisory roles. He shared his perspective and advice for improving employee morale and organizational culture during his morning STN EXPO West general session Tuesday prior to the continuation of the trade show.
Schiffler emphasized that top performers in technical roles — such as mechanics or drivers — do not automatically possess leadership capabilities.
“The best mechanics solve problems independently,” he said. “Leadership requires getting things done through other people.”
Organizations frequently promote long-serving employees or family members without evaluating their leadership capabilities. This approach, Schiffler warned, can create workplace dysfunction, decrease productivity and increase employee turnover.
Undefined role expectations are also a fast route toward dysfunction in the workplace. Without clear job descriptions, new supervisors often default to performing tasks they enjoy rather than responsibilities critical to their role. “Lack of structure breeds uncertainty and underperformance,” Schiffler explained.
Then there is insufficient training of employees to become supervisors in the first place.
Many organizations provide minimal guidance to new supervisors, essentially saying “congratulations and good luck,” he noted. This approach leads to frustration, potential misconduct and potential leadership failure.
Schiffler also recommended weekly one-on-one meetings between new supervisors and their managers to provide immediate feedback, build confidence and reinforce accountability.
Critical skills for supervisors, Schiffler explained, include exceptional communication abilities, public speaking proficiency, performance management, cultural awareness and employee training capabilities.
“Leadership is a calling, not just a job,” Schiffler told the audience. “It’s about inspiring people and helping them through life’s challenges.”
He stressed that creating a people-first workplace culture ultimately drives organizational success, emphasizing empathy, recognition, and consistent communication.
“Building a culture is not a difficult thing, folks,” he added. “It just takes time to think about it.”
An attendee asked for advice on changing what he called “terrible” culture in his school district, where he has only worked for the past five months.
“I would think about calling a meeting and videotaping it. That means everybody hears the same thing because we have different locations. Share with them your observations over the five months you’ve been there,” Schiffler advised. “Let them know that you would like things to be better.”
He also suggested conducting a survey aimed at improving culture, to understand the root causes of the issues and make a commitment to address them. Schiffler also said it is necessary to set clear values and regularly communicate progress to employees. He emphasized the importance of following through on commitments to build trust and improve morale.
A state-funded climate financing authority will begin ramping up lending in Minnesota this year after hiring its first executive director in October.
The Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority, established by state legislators as part of a flurry of climate and clean energy bills in 2023, is charged with annually lending at least $25 million to stimulate clean energy development and greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects.
The timing — as the Trump administration sows chaos and confusion around federal grant funding — is coincidental, but could help some projects withstand the uncertainty.
Kari Groth Swan, the state authority’s executive director, said she hopes to use her background in banking and community development to help connect promising projects with state and private money.
She recently spoke with the Energy News Network about the launch of the program, which has already drawn dozens of applications.
What kind of projects are eligible?
The finance authority seeks to fund projects that help Minnesota meet its climate action goals, including the Climate Action Framework. The green bank has received applications for district hydrothermal energy, solar gardens, new energy-efficient construction, electric vehicle charging stations, air source heat pumps, battery manufacturing, and the Solar on Schools program.
How does it work?
The funding process is similar to what conventional lenders use. Applicants provide two years of financials, a narrative, a project budget, a list of commitments from other funders, and other financial information.
“We’re not funding ideas,” Swan said. “We’re funding viable, actionable projects that can get done and create jobs.”
A governing board appointed by Gov. Tim Walz makes the final lending decisions. The board includes representatives of state agencies, industry organizations, tribal nations, labor unions and people from other professions.
Why does the state need a green bank?
Green banks are mission-driven to promote clean energy projects, and have technical expertise in energy lending. Minnesota’s green bank intentionally focuses on underserved markets unlikely to receive all their capital from private lenders. By deploying a lending institution rather than relying on grants for clean energy projects, the state creates a revolving fund as loans are repaid.
The finance authority won’t ever be the primary lender on a project, but having the state involved helps move projects forward, Swan said. The green bank has a pipeline of $25 million in loan applications from projects worth over $265 million.
Swan said the first wave of applicants came fully formed and with significant capital in place. The second wave might need some additional advocacy with lenders. “I will be out talking to the traditional lenders, saying, ‘Here’s an example of a project and here’s what the capital stack looks like. Will you partner with us?’”
How large are the loans?
A wide range of loan amounts are available. The green bank requires a minimum loan amount of $250,000, and while the first three loans it issued were all over $1 million, Swan expects a greater variety of loan amounts now that the bank is fully operational. In addition, no loan can exceed 10% of the amount the bank loans annually. The bank may also fund nonprofit lenders who could provide capital to smaller clean energy projects.
How much money is available?
By statute, the bank must lend at least $25 million annually. The Legislature allocated $45 million in 2024 to get the green bank going. Last year, the state competitiveness fund provided $60 million and the federal government added $25 million.
What other requirements are there?
Half of the loans must meet guidelines for environmental justice communities based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s current definition. To qualify, a community’s non-White population must be at least 40%, and 35% of the population must have an income at or below 200% of the poverty level.
How could President Trump’s attacks on federal clean energy affect the program?
Swan thinks federal investment tax credits for clean energy will survive under Trump, adding that unwinding them quickly will be challenging because they’re part of the tax code. But the Trump administration has already signaled a willingness to usurp Congress’ constitutional spending authority when it comes to clean energy, which could mean a greater need for money but also fewer projects ready to fund in Minnesota.
A recent ruling by a Wisconsin appeals court closes the door on the long-standing battle for third-party-owned solar in the state — at least for the near future, as disappointed advocates see it.
On Jan. 3, the court dismissed ongoing legal proceedings regarding a Stevens Point family’s efforts to buy electricity from solar panels that would have been installed on their home but owned by a solar company. The arrangement, known as third-party solar, allows customers access to solar power without the upfront cost of installing panels.
The family moved before their case concluded, though, making it “moot” in the court’s opinion. Advocates had hoped a court decision could still clarify that under existing law, third-party-owned solar is indeed legal, but those hopes are now dashed.
“I think this road is at a dead end at this point,” said Will Kenworthy, Midwest regional director for Vote Solar, which had brought a petition before the Public Service Commission on the family’s behalf, asking the commission to affirm their right to do the project. “We had a chance to resolve it once and for all, and we made the effort to get it this far, then had the carpet pulled out from underneath us.”
In late 2022, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission ruled in favor of the family, who wanted to install rooftop solar that would be owned by North Wind Renewable Energy Cooperative, a developer based nearby.
After the commission decision, the Wisconsin Utilities Association filed a lawsuit challenging the commissions’ ruling, arguing such arrangements violate utilities’ monopoly rights to provide power.
A trial court remanded the issue back to the commission for further information. Vote Solar, represented by the Environmental Law & Policy Center, appealed that ruling, and hoped the appeals court would affirm the commission’s decision.
But when the Public Service Commission members found out that the family had moved without installing solar, they withdrew the decision on their case.
“It closes this phase of the very long and ongoing saga here to clarify the law for third-party financing,” said ELPC senior attorney Brad Klein. “What’s frustrating with this setback is a lot of work went into teeing up a strong legal case for the commission and the courts. It got knocked out on a procedural non-substantive issue on the status of the customers, which leaves the rest of Wisconsin customers in the dark on the lawfulness of this tool.”
The commission’s decision on the Stevens Point case had applied only to that particular project. But advocates thought the move could pave the way for others to do third-party-owned solar.
Why it matters
“The hope with that decision was it would serve as a precedent — if this one family can do it, then a second family, a third family, a fourth family could do it too,” said John Albers, a director at Advanced Energy United, which filed an amicus brief in the case. “The frustrating part is none of this should be happening. Wisconsin is an outlier — you’ve got Michigan, Illinois and Iowa that all allow third-party ownership.”
Nationwide, third-party ownership makes solar more accessible for many households, nonprofits, churches, schools and government agencies, since the solar developer or other third-party owner pays the upfront costs and reaps the tax incentives, while providing power and passing on energy bill savings to the resident or nonprofit.
The direct-pay provision in the Inflation Reduction Act makes third-party ownership less crucial for nonprofit entities including government agencies, since direct payments —unlike tax incentives — can be tapped even if one doesn’t pay taxes. But the paperwork requirements for direct pay can be onerous, and under the Trump administration, pieces of the IRA may be rolled back.
Advocates have long argued that existing Wisconsin law actually does allow for third-party-owned solar. But without clarity from a government authority, utilities have refused to interconnect third-party-owned solar arrays, and developers have been reluctant or unwilling to explore the arrangement with customers.
A legal battle over Eagle Point Solar’s plans to do a third-party-owned solar project with the city of Milwaukee, for example, has been before the public service commission and in the courts for years.
Kenworthy said advocates were hoping the commission and appellate court would offer “an interpretation of statute that avoids this preposterous outcome that someone putting a small solar array on someone’s roof is suddenly constituting a utility.”
“We think it’s as urgent as ever to get third-party ownership available to the people of Wisconsin, we’re still interested in trying to figure out if there’s a way we can address it,” Kenworthy continued. That could mean another resident attempting third-party-owned solar, a lengthy and frustrating undertaking, as the Stevens Point family saw.
“It was illustrative of the problem people are facing,” Kenworthy said. “Getting solar on a residential rooftop is a tough choice anyway, and when you have that type of uncertainty out there it really is a deterrent.”
In an amicus brief, Advanced Energy United had made the case that residential third-party-owned solar would benefit all ratepayers, and could reduce reliance on planned new gas plants in Wisconsin. The group is among many that have filed testimony opposing a $1.2 billion new gas peaker plant that the utility WEPCO plans to build at the site of its Oak Creek coal plant.
“Really, the more behind the meter solar you have in Wisconsin, the better for all ratepayers,” he said. “Utilities wouldn’t need to spend as much on new generation if homeowners were able to generate at home.”
In years past, advocates have pleaded with the legislature, courts and commission to offer clarity on third-party ownership, so far to no avail. The Public Service Commission declined to rule on a petition from the Midwest Renewable Energy Association seeking to develop third-party-owned solar, noting that the association did not have a specific project contract.
“The problem remains unresolved and it’s going to require some additional work over time, but we are going to continue pushing,” Klein said. “I’m confident in the long-term outcome because I think we’re right on the law. We don’t know if the next effort will mirror this one, which was an attempt to be responsive to the commission’s request to bring a specific case to them. We may do that again, or there’s other avenues. Certainly the legislature could act, there are other ways the commission could act. We’ll be exploring all of those options.”
As long-distance transmission line capacity emerges as a bottleneck for Illinois’ clean energy transition, state lawmakers and advocates are drafting legislation to establish state incentives for power line projects.
One proposal under consideration would allow independent transmission developers to access subsidies through the state’s Renewable Energy Credit (RECs) program, the same mechanism that has fueled the state’s solar boom.
“Merchant transmission developers are essentially building a road — generators pay to put their electricity on that road and send it to customers,” said James Gignac, Midwest senior policy manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a member of the coalition working with legislators on an energy bill building on 2017’s Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA.
The Illinois legislation being prepared for this spring’s session would create another source of revenue for such projects, lowering the cost burden on wind and solar developers looking for a more direct route to power customers. Unlike projects funded by utility ratepayers, merchant lines do not need to go through the lengthy planning and financing process overseen by regional grid operators such as MISO and PJM.
“These [high voltage, direct current] lines can serve a different purpose,” Gignac said. “It’s an overlay or additional feature of the transmission system. They can provide important benefits that supplement the [regional transmission organization] plan.”
A regional need
CEJA mandates that almost all of the state’s fossil fuel generation cease by 2045. Especially with the boom in data centers, some are worried Illinois won’t be able to meet its energy needs with renewables and nuclear if coal and gas plants close.
“Transmission is a huge part of the equation, it will be important in helping us take inefficient coal and gas plants off-line, and it will help bring on extraordinary amounts of clean energy,” said Christine Nannicelli, Sierra Club Beyond Coal senior campaign representative.
In December, MISO, which manages the grid for most of Illinois and a large part of the central U.S. spanning from the Dakotas to the Gulf Coast, approved a batch of 24 long-distance transmission projects on top of 18 interregional transmission lines approved in 2022. But these lines will likely take a decade or more to build, given lengthy bureaucratic processes.
Merchant lines can be constructed much more quickly, as they do not need to be studied and deemed necessary through the regional transmission organization process. They just need to be interconnected to the regional grid system, as well as receive certain approvals in the states they pass through. Illinois advocates have also proposed that legislation designate merchant lines as public utilities, giving them an easier path to eminent domain powers.
Merchant lines including the Grain Belt Express, which would stretch from Kansas through Missouri to the Illinois-Indiana border, have faced opposition from landowners concerned about the routes and eminent domain. Merchant lines also introduce competition for utility companies, which have pushed for legislation in various states to limit such competition.
Some advocates argue competition can be good for ratepayers and the environment. Merchant lines could bring renewable power into Illinois from other states, and also make it easier for new renewables to be built in Illinois and connected to the grid. There can be long delays for new wind and solar farms to get approval to be connected to the MISO grid. These renewables could connect to merchant lines without delay.
Grain Belt Express developer Invenergy, based in Chicago, is among the backers of a transmission incentive bill.
Another merchant transmission line seeking to deliver power to Illinois is SOO Green, a proposed 350-mile underground cable between Iowa and Illinois following a railroad right-of-way.
Both projects would facilitate sharing power between MISO and PJM grids, a necessity especially as extreme weather events increase, experts say. Last May, the twoorganizations for the first time agreed to coordinate on their long-range planning,
The Clean Grid Alliance, a national organization, advocates for grid expansion both through the regional transmission organizations’ planning processes, and through merchant lines. The alliance supported a proposal during the last Illinois legislative session that would have created RECs for merchant transmission. Clean Grid Alliance vice president of advocacy Jeff Danielson said he does not know of any other states that have created RECs for this purpose.
“We encourage states to help in any way possible to get the electric interstate superhighway built,” said Danielson. “It really is up to the states to secure their own economic future around a resilient and commerce-friendly grid. Whether it’s a REC concept, direct power purchase agreements, permitting reform, we encourage all of it. We literally need to build the transmission everywhere all at once.”
Financial lift
Since projects like Grain Belt Express and SOO Green cover multiple states, it may seem unfair for one state to carry more of the financial burden by offering subsidies. But Danielson said that may be necessary to tip the balance and make sure transmission gets built; and other states should follow Illinois’s lead.
“There’s the idea it will just get built,” without state action, Danielson said. “But it won’t, it hasn’t. Merchant lines are incredibly difficult to build. A governor has to understand the value to his state, his colleagues in other states have to understand this is what’s going to drive economic growth. Every time they’re in a meeting they should be saying, ‘We have to get to yes.’ It’s a shared opportunity and shared responsibility.”
A March 2024 study by the Illinois Power Agency estimated that credits for the SOO Green line would cost ratepayers $430 million per year, while reducing utility bills to save them $178 million per year. The line would also add $414 million in economic benefit to the state’s economy, the agency found.
The Laborers’ International Union of North America is among the labor unions supporting a transmission-incentives bill. The union’s Midwest governmental affairs director, Sean Stott, noted that Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express, for example, is projected to create 1,500 construction jobs in central Illinois.
“They’ve made a commitment to employing residents of central Illinois to do that work, including members of the Laborers union,” he said. “Any time you do that, you’ll have money in the pockets of workers. It would definitely generate a significant amount of economic activity in the local community.”
He doesn’t think union members would resent the additional charges on electric bills to fund transmission incentives.
“There are no free lunches in life, there would be a small charge, however they would receive by virtue of an influx of lower-cost power, downward pressure on their electric bills,” he said.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association also supports such legislation.
“We’ve seen warnings for the last couple years both in PJM and MISO of potential brown-outs,” said association president Mark Denzler. “When there are challenges, the first folks they ask to reduce load are industries. Transmission projects are one place where the state has the ability to work on making sure we have reliability.”
The legislation might also include a component known as “next generation highways,” allowing transmission lines to be co-located with highways, a situation currently prohibited under Illinois law. Minnesota last year passed similar legislation.
“We want to at least allow utilities the option to consider that,” said Gignac. “It’s something states can do, allowing some flexibility in the location of transmission lines.”
Danielson framed the relationship to highways as symbolic on a larger level.
“We have never thought about our grid in an integrated interstate commerce way like we thought about the highway system in the 1950s, and we really need to,” he said. “Because resilience to weather events and connecting economies through clean energy and 24-7 internet commerce are going to be the reasons Midwest states and the U.S. in general are going to be an economic leader in the future.”
On the night of Jan. 2, there was an explosion on a well pad in eastern Ohio’s Guernsey County. In shaky Facebook videos, the volunteer fire department chief warned off “looky-loos,” as a burning tank fed dark, billowing clouds of smoke off in the distance.
The accident happened at the Groh well pad which is operated by Gulfport Engergy. No one was injured in the blast and first responders determined the safest course of action was to let the fire burn itself out. Guernsey County Emergency Management Agency issued an evacuation notice within half a mile of the well pad. The agency lifted its advisory about 14 hours later.
In a statement, Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Karina Cheung said the agency is still investigating the cause of the fire and assessing damage.
“Preliminary findings indicate that one containment tank was affected,” she said. “All produced fluids have been safely removed. There was no release of fluids into the environment and the well pad remains shut down and inactive.”
“There were no reported injuries, no reported impacts to wildlife, and no reported impacts to water,” she added.
Context and track record
But to some, the incident highlights concerns they’ve been raising for years about oil and gas drilling — particularly as exploration expands to state lands.
The Groh well pad sits about five miles from Salt Fork State Park. While the site doesn’t draw from within the park, the accident is a reminder that Salt Fork was recently opened to oil and gas exploration thanks to a 2022 law signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Those leases don’t allow well pads within the boundaries of state land, but opponents argue more exploration means more accidents. And with drilling infrastructure creeping closer, they contend, it’s a matter of time before those accidents affect public land.
“These are accidents that have great potential to cause people serious breathing and respiratory illnesses from air emissions alone,” Melinda Zemper from the organization Save Ohio Parks said.
Although she’s quick to note the difference in scale, Zemper compared the accident to the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine.
“Sometimes when you have explosions,” she added, “you don’t know what chemicals are going to be released into the soil and the water nearby the well pad.”
The group has organized opposition to drilling leases on public land since state officials began awarding them through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Oil and Gas Land Management Commission.
Gulfport Energy has been awarded seven of those leases in Belmont and Monroe Counties.
Save Ohio Parks argues the recent Groh well pad fire isn’t an isolated incident.
In 2020, Gulfport agreed to a $3.7 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over its operations in Ohio. The company faced $1.7 million in penalties and was directed to invest $2 million in upgrades to reduce emissions at its facilities. The company has also had several accidents in Ohio, primarily related to spilling brine or other drilling fluid. In 2013, state officials fined the company a quarter million dollars over leaks at seven well pads in Belmont and Harrison Counties.
Ohio Capital Journal reached out to Gulfport Energy but got no response.
Accidents and reporting
Taking a step back, the organization FracTracker argued the Groh well pad explosion is a symptom of a broader problem. In an analysis of incident records from 2015 to 2023, Gwen Klenke found at least 1,900 well-related incidents reported in Ohio.
“I think the larger context is just that this industry is prone to accidents,” she said, “and that there will be accidents as we start to frack and extract on state lands — not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
The bulk of incidents Klenke documented have to do with release or discharge — of gas, brine or other chemicals involved in drilling. Nearly 160 of those incidents are classified as explosions or fires, but only two reference injury or property damage. Under ODNR designations, only three incidents are classified as major or severe since 2018.
Ohio Oil and Gas Association President Rob Rob Brundrett points to the lack of major incidents as “a testament to the industry’s rigorous safety standards and practices.”
“Considering that only .004 percent of ALL Ohio oil and gas operations have had a major reportable incident during that timeframe, I have, and will continue to, put our industry’s safety numbers against any other labor-intensive industry in Ohio,” he added.
But Klenke argues that low number of major incidents points to shortcomings in reporting and classification rather than a strong safety record. Kathiann Kowalski from the Energy News Network highlighted ODNR’s classification system in a 2023 report as well.
The agency relies on a matrix to determine the severity of an incident, but its criteria are subjective and complex. Does the burned-out tank at the Groh well pad constitute “moderate” or “major” on-site equipment damage? If the fire burned for at least 14 hours, does that push it into the category of a major incident (12-24 hours to control impact) or does the apparent lack of off-site spillage ratchet it down to a minor incident?
In her report, Klenke points to two other incidents involving explosions at homes that involved injuries. Because the reporting system allows just one category, they were listed as “explosion/fire,” but they could’ve also been listed as “injury” or “property damage” among other designations.
Klenke explained neither incident was listed as “major” or “severe” under ODNR’s designations.
“They were calling those moderate or minor explosions,” she said, “when those should really be considered major if they’re damaging property, they’re damaging folks’ health.”
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.
A long-running local government collaboration in southwestern Minnesota is helping to insulate the region from the kind of controversies and misinformation that have plagued rural clean energy projects in other states.
The Rural Minnesota Energy Board has its origins in a regional task force that was set up during the mid-1990s as the state’s first wind farms were being built. The task force was instrumental in persuading state legislators in 2002 to create a wind energy production tax, which today generates millions of dollars in annual revenue for counties and townships that host wind projects.
The group’s scope and membership has since gradually expanded to include 18 rural counties that pay monthly dues for support on energy policy and permitting. The board represents members at the state legislature and in Public Utilities Commission proceedings. At home, it facilitates community meetings with project developers, helps draft energy-related ordinances, and educates members and the public on the benefits of energy projects.
The result, say clean energy advocates and developers, has been a uniquely consistent approach to local energy policy and permitting that makes it easier for renewable companies to do business in the region.
“The rural energy board has been a critical, important body and one of the major reasons why renewable energy has been successful in southwestern Minnesota,” said Adam Sokolski, director of regulatory and legislative affairs at EDF Renewables North America. “Their policies have encouraged good decision-making over the years and led to a stable and productive region for energy development.”
EDF Renewables has worked with the board on at least nine projects in the region. Sokolski said he’s come to admire its approach to policy making, its support for transmission projects, and its efforts to educate members on clean energy.
“It’s positive to have county leaders talking to each other about energy projects, about how … they can approach those projects so they best benefit their constituents and the public,” he said.
Southwest Minnesota has the state’s densest concentration of wind turbines and is increasingly attracting solar developers, too. Wind turbines account for more than 4,500 megawatts, or around 22%, of the state’s generation capacity, making Minnesota a top 10 state for wind production.
‘It’s all economic development’
The board counts the wind production tax among its most significant accomplishments. Large wind farms pay $1.20 per megawatt-hour of generation. Counties receive 80% of the revenue, with the remainder going to townships. A similar fee also exists for large solar projects.
The fee delivers millions of dollars annually, allowing local governments to construct buildings and repair bridges and roads without raising their levies for years. According to American Clean Power, Minnesota municipalities receive $44 million annually in taxes, and private landowners receive nearly $41 million in lease payments from wind and solar companies.
That has enabled counties to stave off opposition by pointing out that turbines and solar are economic development, according to Jason Walker, community development director for the Southwest Regional Development Commission, which manages the board, said the local government revenue generated from wind and solar projects has helped reduce opposition to projects.
“It’s all economic development here,” Walker said.
When opposition does emerge, such as around a recent 160 megawatt solar project in Rock County in the state’s far southwest corner, the board works with commissioners to make sure local leaders have factual information as opposed to misinformation.
Peder Mewis, regional policy director for the Clean Grid Alliance, praised the board for creating an information-sharing culture among members that helps prepare them for clean energy development. He said many developers appreciate that the region’s ordinances are similar because of the board, and that they have maintained good relationships with members over the years.
“There are other parts of the state that are thinking, ‘Is there something here that we could replicate or duplicate?’” Mewis said.
Jay Trusty, executive director of the Southwest Regional Development Commission, said the board plays an essential role in lobbying for state policy to support clean energy development. In addition to the production taxes, the board regularly defends the local distribution of those funds when lawmakers consider other uses for the revenue. The board more recently lobbied for changes to the state transmission permitting process, which were approved this year, and it supported an expansion for Xcel Energy’s CapX 2020 high-voltage transmission project before state utility regulators.
Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioner John Tuma recalled the board’s support for the state’s 2008 renewable energy standard, which gave Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty important rural support for signing the legislation.
“They bring an economic voice to the table,” Tuma said, adding that the board continues to be active in conversations about regional grid policies.
Nobles County Commissioner Gene Metz has served on the board for 12 years. The region’s decades of experience and collaboration on wind energy has helped make residents more comfortable with clean energy projects, he said, leading to fewer controversies.
In counties outside the board’s territory, “they’re getting more pushback, especially on solar projects,” he said.
Gene’s cousin, Chad Metz, serves as a commissioner in Traverse County, which is not a member and has a mortarium on clean energy projects. Chad Metz sees clean energy as inevitable and wants the county to join the rural energy board to protect its economic interests. “The benefits outweigh the negatives, and it will just become part of life,” he said.
The last time President Donald Trump took office, Illinois had just passed the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), creating an ambitious renewable electricity mandate, solar incentive programs, green job training and equity provisions to propel the state’s clean energy economy.
That progress is offering both a blueprint and a source of hope for Illinois clean energy and environmental justice advocates as they try to keep the state’s clean energy transition on track during a second Trump presidency.
“The state policy is designed to be responsive to a lack of federal climate leadership, to the need for Illinois to step up into a position of climate leadership,” said Vote Solar deputy Midwest program director John Delurey, who added that since the 2024 election “I’m at the point where I can channel my existential dread into state-based action.”
Illinois lawmakers expanded on FEJA with the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021, and advocates expect another state energy bill in 2025 to prioritize energy storage and otherwise further clean energy goals, including planning for the mandatory closing of almost all fossil fuel generation by 2035.
“With CEJA we’ve mapped out an ambitious climate plan, and we’re in a strong position to further those goals even under a Trump administration,” said Madeline Semanisin, Midwest equitable building decarbonization advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This is not the first Trump administration. States and cities are more prepared this time to accelerate initiatives at the state and city level.”
That’s not to say the state won’t be affected by a president who is hostile toward clean energy policy. Several federal tax credits and grants that have helped accelerate progress in Illinois could be at risk under Trump, and a rollback of federal environmental regulations or enforcement could prolong pollution from coal ash, power plants and other sources.
James Gignac, Union of Concerned Scientists lead Midwest senior policy manager for the Climate & Energy program, said he thinks of the state’s clean energy outlook in terms of headwinds and tailwinds, which will continue to shift based on economic and political factors beyond the state’s control.
“States for many years have not been able to rely on the federal government for climate action, whether due to politics or the Supreme Court,” Gignac said. “The election results will make it harder to achieve the goals that Illinois has established. It doesn’t fundamentally change the energy policy path that the state is on, it just makes it even more urgent that state legislators pass additional policies.”
Tax credits and grants
Federal funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other federal programs have helped Illinois and individual cities and counties carry out their clean energy goals. Illinois was awarded more than $430 million in a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant for implementation of the state’s goals on industrial decarbonization, clean energy, clean transportation and freight, climate-smart agriculture, and building energy efficiency.
Illinois was also awarded $156 million in federal Solar for All funds to bolster solar and equity goals including workforce training, residential solar deployment, and community engagement.
Illinois advocates and experts said they expect federal funds that have already been awarded to be paid out, and they don’t expect the Trump administration and Republican-dominated Congress to make major changes to the IRA or infrastructure law, especially given the financial impact those laws have had in Republican-dominated areas.
“We have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars for small businesses and farmers” paid out through the federal Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), not to mention federal IRA funds, that “overall are benefitting Republican districts” during the Biden administration, noted Angela Xu, Illinois Environmental Council municipal engagement manager.
Even if new federal funding windfalls are not available in the future, advocates say the funds awarded during the Biden administration will have lasting impact, combined with state-level programs and funding sources that will continue, and market forces that are making clean energy increasingly competitive.
“President-elect Trump has indicated his intention to roll back IRA programs, but keep in mind that when President Trump was elected last time, he and the Republican-led Senate and House were hellbent publicly on rolling back Obamacare, and that didn’t happen,” said Environmental Law & Policy Center executive director Howard Learner.
“The IRA has supported smart, sensible renewable energy development in red states and blue and purple states,” he added. “There’s no question if President Trump tries to cut back and constrain the IRA, it will have some impact on the pace of renewable energy development and other climate change solutions. On the other hand, it’s very hard to keep better technology from growing. When new technologies come to the market and they are better and cleaner and economically sensible, they tend to accelerate and capture more market share.”
Illinois Shines, the program creating lucrative Renewable Energy Credits for distributed solar, is funded through ratepayer payments — so it is not dependent on federal funding. That doesn’t mean it is immune from federal action, since the federal Investment Tax Credit and the global solar market influence the viability of projects in Illinois.
“There are levers they can pull, through an act of Congress they can change the ITC, which is an important part of the value stack for renewables,” said Delurey, of Trump and his allies in Congress. “And they could deploy tariffs which make the landscape a lot more complicated. The U.S., thanks to the IRA, is making its way towards onshoring and bringing a lot of manufacturing back stateside, but we’re not quite there yet.”
If the tax credit is reduced or solar panels get more expensive because of tariffs, Illinois’s incentives “would probably have to be adjusted accordingly,” Delurey said, with bigger incentives for each project.
“It would just mean fewer megawatts and kilowatts in Illinois. We’d still be deploying solar, but it is sensitive to the price of clean energy.”
Environmental justice
Advocates agree that the Biden administration’s Justice 40 mandate, that 40% of the benefits of many federal climate and other programs go to disadvantaged communities, is likely to be ended or ignored by the Trump administration.
Lower-income and marginalized communities could also be affected by understaffing, delays or rollbacks in federal programs like LIHEAP, which provides energy bill assistance, and energy efficiency rebates for low-income households.
“We can put things in state legislation that supports these communities,” including in the Illinois energy bill being drafted for introduction in 2025, Semanisin said. “Justice 40 is a framework we can incorporate in state legislation as well, to prioritize people who have been historically underserved.”
During his first administration, Trump made significant rollbacks to coal plant wastewater protections, and to the 2015 federal rules governing the storage and cleanup of coal ash. Both are big issues in Illinois, where eight coal plants are still operating, and coal ash is stored in 76 ponds, landfills and other sites, according to an Earthjustice analysis.
Earthjustice senior attorney Jenny Cassel said experts anticipate Trump will again try to weaken the Clean Water Act and coal ash protections. Meanwhile it’s likely the EPA under his administration will do little to enforce the coal ash regulations, which was largely the case before the Biden administration made coal ash a priority.
Illinois passed its own state coal ash rules in 2019, after lobbying by activists who wanted to make sure the rules were at least as strong as federal rules and covered legacy ponds not included in federal rules at the time. In 2024, the federal rules were expanded to cover legacy ponds as well as historic ash and coal ash landfills, but that provision is being challenged in federal court. The state rules do not cover ash historically dumped or scattered around, and they also do not cover inactive coal ash landfills.
Meanwhile the implementation of the Illinois coal ash law has been extremely slow. The law requires each site to get an operating permit with pollution limits that can then be enforced, but so far only two permits at one coal plant site have been issued, Cassel said.
“We keep hearing excuse after excuse” from the Illinois EPA that issues the permits, Cassel said. “‘We don’t have enough people, they’re tied up in administrative hearings, conditions are changing,’ every dog-ate-my-homework excuse in the book.”
“At the federal level, there’s any number of potential ways they could attempt to roll back the [coal ash] rules, or weaken areas that haven’t been fully defined,” she added. “That’s certainly what they did in round one. Illinois will really have to step up into the vacuum of protectiveness we expect at the federal level.”
Local action
Chicago — site of the 2024 Democratic National Convention — has long been a target of Trump’s ire, and Chicago officials during his last administration and today are outspoken about countering Trump’s agenda.
Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar said the city will continue its work on solar, electric vehicles and building decarbonization, as well as centering environmental justice in planning, zoning and enforcement decisions.
“So much of everyone’s local regulations hinge on things like the Clean Air Act and federal standards; there is going to be this question of federal preemption, what home-rule authority do we have?” Tovar said. “Those are still outstanding questions. Every rollback will present its own set of challenges for cities and states. What I am at least grateful for in being in the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago is we do have such robust climate leadership at the state and local level.”
The city’s environmental justice ordinance requires a holistic look at pollution — from traffic and other sources — when industrial development is proposed. That could help protect communities even if federal pollution limits are relaxed. The city has also launched an interdepartmental environmental justice working group, involving “every department that touches air, land and water,” as Tovar said.
The city program Green Homes Chicago funds energy efficiency upgrades for qualifying single- and multi-family homes, which could help fill the gap if federal home rebates are reduced, Tovar noted. Chicago Recovery Plan funding from federal pandemic relief and city bond issuances could help compensate for any funding that might be lost if IRA is undermined, she added.
“The role of cities and states becomes even increasingly more important right now,” Tovar said. “We have an ability to really demonstrate leadership in this moment. For cities like Chicago that have already made some progress, it’s up to us to ensure we’re sharing best practices and working together to really create those safeguards and fortify basic environmental and health protections at a local level. We’re certainly going to maintain our commitment, make sure we are rolling out our programs, and unwavering in our pursuit of environmental justice.”
Ohio environmental advocates are questioning the intent of a pending state law that would add nuclear power to the state’s legal definition of “green” energy.
House Bill 308’s sponsors say the legislation is meant to signal that Ohio is open for business when it comes to nuclear power research and development, but critics warn the language could have broader implications in the future.
“Legislators don’t just put something into the code unless it has meaning and purpose and value,” said Megan Hunter, an attorney with Earthjustice, one of several environmental groups challenging a similar 2022 state law that classified natural gas as a “green” energy source. “Why would you do this if it has no impact or meaning or effect?”
Critics fear the language could be used to greenwash power plants or divert public funding from renewable energy projects, though the bill’s sponsors deny that motive.
“It doesn’t promise any incentives or anything beyond simply placing nuclear under the category of green energy in the Ohio Revised Code,” said state Rep. Sean Brennan, a Democrat from Parma who co-sponsored the nuclear legislation with Republican state Rep. Dick Stein of Norwalk.
The General Assembly passed the nuclear legislation on Dec. 11. As of Thursday it was awaiting Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature.
Brennan said the question of why the language should be in a law instead of just a resolution didn’t come up in discussions with Stein, who initially asked him to cosponsor the bill.
Stein said the legislation is “about sending a signal to the market that Ohio wants to be a partner and won’t be an impediment,” in contrast to other states that don’t want nuclear energy. He said he hopes it will help attract jobs and federal funding, building on last year’s creation of a state nuclear development authority.
Stein would not speculate on follow-up steps lawmakers might take, saying his term in the House of Representatives ends this month.
What the law could do
Ohio does not currently have state incentives or policy preferences for “green” energy. The state’s renewable energy standard essentially ended in 2019 as a result of House Bill 6, the coal and nuclear bailout law at the heart of the state’s ongoing corruption scandal. Opponents testifying against the current legislation, though, said they worry the definition will be used to water down future clean energy policies.
“HB 308 will enable the manipulation of public funds into private, corporate hands,” said Pat Marida, a coordinator for the Ohio Nuclear-Free Network, in her December 13 testimony. Also, she said, “there is nothing ‘green’ about nuclear power,” referring to radioactive waste, which continues to be stored at power plant sites.
Future state programs might offer funding or other advantages for projects that meet the state’s definition of “green” energy, for example. And even if the definition doesn’t open doors to new government funding, it could provide cover to private companies that want to count gas and nuclear energy toward their climate or clean energy targets, another advocate warned.
“Insidiously, it does potentially become important,” said Nathan Alley, conservation manager for the Sierra Club of Ohio. Many companies have adopted clean energy goals, he noted. “This might telegraph to them that they could invest in nuclear energy and achieve the same climate and/or energy goals as if they invest in solar or wind.”
Ohio lawmakers aren’t the only ones who want to define natural gas and nuclear power as “green energy.” Model legislation finalized by the American Legislative Exchange Council this fall does the same thing. ALEC is a Koch-linked group that has long opposed renewable energy and actions to address climate change.
ALEC’s model bill would have its definition “apply to all programs in the state that fund any ‘green energy’ or ‘clean energy’ initiatives.” Another model ALEC bill would define nuclear energy as “clean energy” and put it on a par with renewable energy.
A coalition of environmental groups is currently challenging House Bill 507, Ohio’s 2022 law that labeled natural gas as “green energy,” arguing in court that the way in which it was passed violated the state constitution. The groups say last-minute amendments violated provisions that require bills to deal with a single subject – the initial two-page bill dealt with chickens – and call for at least three hearings in each house of the General Assembly where lawmakers can hear testimony from supporters and opponents.
That lawsuit has been briefed and is currently awaiting a decision from Judge Kimberly Cocroft at the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. HB 308 should not affect that case, said Hunter and Alley.
As with HB 507, though, lawmakers added last-minute amendments to HB 308. One of those would extend lease terms for drilling under state park and wildlife areas from three years to five years. That was unacceptable to Brennan, who voted against the Senate amendments when it came back to the Ohio House.
Still, he supports what he views as the main purpose of the legislation: attracting more nuclear power to Ohio. In his view, solar and wind won’t be enough to meet growing energy demands while shifting away from fossil fuels in order to address climate change. “I believe nuclear is going to be hugely important for our energy independence, and hopefully Ohio will become an exporter of electricity in the future.”
Hunter wasn’t surprised that lawmakers made last-minute amendments to the bill. For her, it shows the importance of the ongoing litigation over HB 507.
“Those constitutional protections are there for a reason,” she said. “And seeing the General Assembly have blatant disregard for them again and again harms Ohioans. It deprives them of these constitutional rights.”
Two community-based geothermal pilot projects, each led by equity-focused nonprofits, have advanced to the second phase of funding through a U.S. Department of Energy program.
Blacks in Green, a community organization based in Chicago, and Home Energy Efficiency Team, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting an equitable transition to clean energy, were included last week in a set of five projects across the country that have been awarded a total of more than $35 million from the DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office to implement geothermal installations.
The five project teams advancing to the next phase of the DOE project were among a cohort of 11 projects participating in the initial phase of the program, where coalitions selected project sites, assessed geothermal resource and permitting needs, conducted feasibility analysis and local engagement, and identified workforce and training needs. The selected projects’ range of sizes, technologies, and innovations will provide potential templates for other communities considering implementing geothermal systems.
Three of the five projects are located in urban or suburban areas; two are in rural communities. The other three recipients are the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan; the University of Oklahoma, for a project in the town of Shawnee; and GTI Energy, for a project in Hinesburg, Vermont.
Tapping into Chicago’s alleys
Blacks in Green, located in West Woodlawn, a predominantly Black community on Chicago’s South Side, serves as the lead for a coalition which was awarded $9.9 million for its Sustainable Chicago Geothermal pilot. Other coalition partners are the City of Chicago, University of Illinois, The Accelerate Group, Citizens Utility Board, Climate Jobs Illinois, dbHMS, GeoExchange, and Illinois AFL-CIO.
The pilot, also located in West Woodlawn, utilizes alleys to circumvent the need for vast open plots for subterranean loop fields that form the heart of a geothermal array. Locating the bulk of geothermal loop lines in alleyways also sidesteps the underground congestion of existing utility infrastructure typically located underneath city streets.
It’s among an assortment of elements in the Sustainable Square Mile approach that advances BIG’s vision for energy justice through clean energy and microgrid/VPP systems owned and managed by the community, said Naomi Davis, BIG’s founder and CEO.
“BIG launched in 2007 with a goal of increasing household income and community resilience against the harms of climate crisis at neighborhood scale using the new green economy — so we’re grateful for this chance to make it manifest,” Davis said in a news release.
Along with installation of the needed infrastructure within the multiblock footprint, year two of the West Woodlawn project will focus on community outreach and job programs. Once construction is complete, the geothermal system will provide heating and cooling, not to mention lower utility bills, for potentially more than 200 households.
“The Sustainable Chicago Geothermal project will be a transformational investment in the West Woodlawn community. The effort to eliminate harmful emissions from homes and businesses, while lowering energy burden, has proven to be a community-wide challenge, and requires a community-wide solution,” said Andrew Barbeau, president of The Accelerate Group and principal investigator of the Blacks in Green project, in a news release.
The need to reconstruct the alleyways after installation of the geothermal array also presents the opportunity to replace asphalt or concrete with permeable pavers. This would work to promote climate resiliency through mitigation of urban flooding, a persistent occurrence in many of Chicago’s South and West Side communities, said Nuri Madina, the director of Sustainable Square Mile, who serves as point person for the pilot.
“All of our programs are designed to create multiple benefits,” Madina told the Energy News Network in September.
A first-of-its kind project in suburban Boston
Home Energy Efficiency Team, commonly referred to by the acronym HEET, in partnership with Eversource Energy; the city of Framingham, Massachusetts; and engineering consultant Salas O’Brien; was awarded $7.8 million toward construction of a utility-based,community-scale geothermal system.
“We are honored to receive this funding from the DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office as part of the Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling initiative, and to show how geothermal energy networks can be interconnected to increase efficiency, build resilience, and decarbonize at the scale and speed we need to achieve our climate goals,” said Zeyneb Magavi, executive director for HEET, in a news release.
The proposed plans by HEET and its partners would connect to the first Framingham geothermal network, which was commissioned earlier this year. Once approved by the state Department of Public Utilities and upon completion, it would represent the first utility-owned community geothermal network to connect to an adjacent operational loop, establishing guidelines for the interconnection and growth of geothermal networks.
“This innovative project not only showcases Framingham’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions but also sets a precedent for other communities across the nation. By harnessing the natural heat from the earth, we are taking a significant step towards reducing our carbon footprint and promoting renewable energy sources. Our collaboration with HEET and Eversource exemplifies the power of partnerships in driving forward clean energy initiatives,” said Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky in a news release.
“So instead of feeding natural gas into these buildings, we could feed geothermal water,” Magavi said. “And then we could meter that and sell that. It’s no different than when you pay your water bill.”
Three Ohio companies are investing in hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles even as the U.S. market for electric vehicles continues to grow. Each has an innovative approach to the chicken-and-egg problem of having fuel available when and where drivers need it.
The Ohio companies’ focus on fuel cell passenger vehicles is unique nationwide, especially for a state that doesn’t yet have any public hydrogen fueling stations. California, where almost all of the country’s hydrogen fuel cell cars are registered, still has fewer than 60 public stations.
“When we see hydrogen transportation deployment projects, it’s really more on the medium- and heavy-duty side,” said Mark Henning, a researcher at Cleveland State University’s Energy Policy Center at the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs.
A hydrogen car is essentially an electric vehicle with an onboard fuel cell providing electricity alongside a battery. General Motors first displayed a prototype for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle back in the 1960s, but hydrogen cars weren’t available to U.S. consumers until leases for the 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell began, with sales of the Toyota Mirai starting that fall.
Hydrogen car sales have been essentially limited to California, where state policy and public funding supported the development of some public fueling stations. Since then, only about 18,000 fuel cell cars have been sold in the U.S.
Yet Ohio companies have been working on hydrogen energy for more than two decades. The state trade association, the Ohio Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Coalition, traces its history back to 2003.
If successful, the current efforts could eventually provide another option for switching away from gasoline-powered cars. While electric vehicles are comparable in price, hydrogen cars can be refueled quickly — assuming the infrastructure is available — and offer more consistent range in cold weather. But much could hinge on how quickly hydrogen infrastructure develops, as well as how quickly and effectively plug-in electric vehicle makers deal with their own range and charging challenges.
One example of the desire for hydrogen vehicle alternatives comes from DLZ, an engineering, architectural and project management company headquartered in Columbus with offices across the United States as well as in India and Costa Rica. The company has a fleet of about 250 vehicles across the Midwest, including electric vehicles. In 2022, it added six Hyundai hydrogen fuel cell cars for use by professionals from its Columbus office.
“The hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have a lot more consistent performance in range and durability,” especially in cold weather, said Ram Rajadhyaksha, DLZ’s executive vice president. The range for the cars is sufficient for round trips the office’s professionals make to site locations around the state, he explained at the Ohio Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Coalition symposium in North Canton last month.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars aren’t sold in Ohio yet, so DLZ had its six Hyundai vehicles shipped from California to Columbus. Except for the fuel cells, dealers in Ohio can provide any necessary service the vehicles may need, Rajakhyasksha said.
The cars also need a regular source of hydrogen, so DLZ added its own. Its station in Columbus can generate about 20 kilograms of hydrogen per day, using electricity from a solar array atop a large building on company property. A net metering agreement lets DLZ sell any excess electricity from the array to the grid.
Nonetheless, there were hurdles, including permitting, building codes, supply chain issues during the tail end of the pandemic, and even signage codes.
Made in Ohio
While California has been the country’s epicenter for fuel cell vehicles, Honda Motors is now producing the first American-made hybrid hydrogen vehicle at its Marysville plant in Ohio. Its 2025 CR-V e:FCEV model can go roughly 270 miles on a tank of hydrogen. There’s also a small electric battery which provides a driving range of about 30 miles. A 110-volt power outlet on the vehicle can run small home appliances or other equipment.
That range is about the same as Honda’s all-electric Prologue SUV, which also has a comparable list price. But the company believes there is room for both.
“It’s not one or the other,” said Dave Perzynski, assistant manager for hydrogen solutions business development at Honda, who also spoke at the Ohio Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Coalition symposium. “It’s using the right equipment at the right place at the right time.” The CR-V’s electric charging range is about right for his daily round-trip commute, he said, while the fuel cell offers flexibility for longer trips.
Honda’s goal is to achieve 100% decarbonization, Perzynski said. However, limits on local electric grids can make that difficult in some places. “If you can electrify it, if it works, then do that,” he said. “And once that stops working, then thank goodness we’ve been investing in hydrogen for the last 20 years, because there are places and times when you run out of power.”
As a practical matter, the Ohio-made cars’ initial market will be California. For other states, Honda is counting on others to build out the fueling infrastructure.
“The only way we can do that is through a coalition,” Perzynski said. “We can’t build infrastructure alone.”
Building a network
Millennium Reign Energy in Dayton has a membership model to develop hydrogen infrastructure along with the demand for it. Its Emerald H2 network will help customers buy used fuel cell vehicles, while also providing access to hydrogen fueling stations designed and built by the company.
As the number of customers in an area grows, Millennium Reign Energy would swap out the fueling station for one with larger capacity. The smaller station would then go to another location. Access to the stations would be for members only, although members traveling outside their local area could use stations elsewhere.
“Our mission is to build the first transcontinental hydrogen highway,” said CEO Chris McWhinney as he explained the model at the fuel cell program last month. The company’s fueling stations are already operating at places outside the United States, as well as three private facilities in Ohio. The company plans to add its first Emerald H2 network stations in the Dayton area early next year.
The stations use electricity and water to make hydrogen, so using one with a nearby source of solar, wind, hydropower or geothermal energy can provide green energy, versus just moving emissions from tailpipes up to power plants, McWhinney said. That can also bring the cost for the hydrogen fuel down below that of gasoline, he suggested, as renewable electricity continues to get cheaper.
Hurdles ahead
Whether hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles are the best use for renewable energy remains questionable. A study published in Joule last August found battery-electric vehicles were roughly three times more efficient in using renewable electricity than fuel-cell vehicles.
“The battery-electric case is much more efficient than the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle,” said Greg Keoleian, co-director of the University of Michigan’s MI Hydrogen initiative, and one of the co-authors of the Joule study. Ideally, renewable energy will be used efficiently, given the limited amount on the grid now and the urgent need to decarbonize because of climate change, he said.
Battery electric cars also have a much bigger charging network, with nearly 70,000 stations nationwide, Keoleian noted. Cost is also an issue, he added, noting that hydrogen fuel in California currently costs about five times as much as gasoline would to go the same distance.
Henning did note that one of Ohio’s public transit systems, SARTA, the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, has had hydrogen buses as part of its fleet since 2016. Transit fleets also often need a handful of passenger vehicles, which might be able to use tbuses’ hydrogen fueling station while also qualifying for bulk discounts that may start with the acquisition of five or six vehicles, he said.
The Department of Energy’s recent push for hydrogen hubs might also play an indirect role, suggested Sergey Paltsev, deputy director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy. None of the hub projects so far focus on light-duty vehicles, but infrastructure developed for other purposes could make it easier to develop fueling stations. In that case, the Ohio companies could be angling for a competitive advantage.
Yet much remains unknown about whether the incoming Trump administration will continue incentives begun in the Biden administration, Henning said. The law’s tax credit can apply to fuel cell vehicles with final assembly in North America, which might apply to Honda’s hybrid car — if the Inflation Reduction Act continues.
“I do think there is an appetite and there is a customer base for fuel cell electric vehicles, and I can imagine different use cases where that makes more sense” than an all-electric car, said Grant Goodrich, executive director of the Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve University. Multiple people in Northeast Ohio have expressed reluctance to buy an electric vehicle now, especially given the challenges of harsh winter weather.
Yet the infrastructure for electric vehicles is much farther ahead, and electric vehicle makers continue to work to improve performance. “Will the technology of battery and electric vehicles improve enough to stay ahead of FCEV adoption so that is able to keep that challenge at bay?” Goodrich asked.
Early last month, he would have put money on the EV makers to stay ahead. After hearing the presentations from Honda, Millenium Reign Energy and DLZ, he’s not so sure.
“It’s not a done deal,” Goodrich said, noting that the hydrogen fueling experience also seems to be a more natural replacement for the habits customers have adopted as drivers of vehicles with internal combustion engines. “If it was to roll out faster, I think you could see some competition there.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify Greg Keoleian’s role.
Emissions from buildings make up about two-thirds of the greenhouse gas footprint of Indianapolis. So when the city committed to slash emissions, in its 2019 climate action plan and then as part of the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge in 2020, leaders knew where they had to start.
A 2021 ordinance requires all buildings over 50,000 square feet and publicly-owned buildings over 25,000 square feet to do energy benchmarking and report results to the city, to be made publicly available by 2026.
The deadline to comply was July 1, 2024. But at year’s end, only about 20% of the 1,500 buildings covered had complied — even though the process can be done in a matter of hours using EPA’s ENERGYSTAR Portfolio manager software. The city also hosted workshops to help walk building managers through the process.
Now the city’s challenge is to boost benchmarking compliance. The penalties for failing to comply are low: fines of $100 the first year and $250 yearly after that. Chicago’s 2013 benchmarking ordinance, by comparison, includes fines of $100 for the first day of a violation and up to $25 each day thereafter, with a maximum fine of $9,200 per year — and the city has a much higher compliance rate.
Lindsay Trameri, community engagement manager for the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability, said the office is continuing outreach, including sending postcards to all relevant building managers and owners.
“We’re not assessing fines yet, but we’re making sure they’re aware this isn’t a city program that’s going away, it is indeed local law,” Trameri said. “And there are benefits to be gleaned from participating. It might cost hundreds of dollars not to participate, but you could save thousands if you participate and take it seriously.”
Trameri said 27 publicly-owned buildings in the consolidated city and county government must be benchmarked, and the city is planning to use about $800,000 worth of federal Department of Energy funding to hire an energy manager “who will be solely focused on looking at city-owned buildings and how to make them more energy efficient.”
In Indiana, reducing buildings’ electricity use is particularly urgent since the state got about 45% of its power from coal in 2023. The benchmarking mandate doesn’t require buildings to take any action based on their energy results, but benchmarking often motivates building owners and municipalities to invest in savings, experts say.
Cities participating in the Bloomberg program saw 3% to 8% energy reductions and millions in savings, with nearly 400 million square feet now covered by benchmarking policies and over 37,000 energy audits completed, according to Kelly Shultz, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies” sustainable cities initiative.
Success stories
Though overall compliance is low, some major public and private entities have completed benchmarking in Indianapolis, including the airport, convention center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Target and JC Penney.
Phil Day, facilities director for the museum, noted that it’s crucial for museums to keep consistent levels of humidity and temperature. That means high energy use, and also vulnerability to blackouts or energy price spikes. Benchmarking has helped him develop plans for reducing natural gas and electricity use with smaller boilers and heat pumps distributed throughout the facilities, a possible geothermal chilling system, and better insulation. These innovations should save money and make the museum more resilient to energy disruptions.
“Museums aren’t typically known as an energy efficient facility, but it is always high on my priority list in everything we program or replace,” Day said.
The firm Cenergistic has done benchmarking since 2017 for Indianapolis Public Schools, and identified more than $1 million in wasteful energy costs that could be cut across 71 schools. Under Cenergistic’s contract, it is paid half of the energy savings it secures. Seventeen school buildings have obtained EPA Energy Star status based on their energy efficiency improvements, Cenergistic CEO Dennis Harris said.
“Benchmarking provided a clear starting point by identifying high-energy-consuming facilities and systems,” Harris said. “Cenergistic energy specialists track energy consumption at all campuses with the company’s software platform, identifying waste and driving conservation. By consistently reviewing this data, Cenergistic continues to work with IPS to make data-driven decisions, set measurable goals, and continually refine its strategy for maximum impact.”
Trameri said the schools’ success is “a great message to point to. If they can do it, we can do it. Of course, we want those millions to go back into classrooms and teachers and students versus out the door for utility costs.”
Learning by example
Trameri said in developing its benchmarking program and ordinance, Indianapolis has relied on guidance and lessons from other cities including Columbus, Ohio and Chicago, both fellow participants in the Bloomberg challenge.
In Chicago, about 85% of the 3,700 buildings covered by the ordinance are in compliance, said Amy Jewel, vice president of programs at Elevate, the organization that oversees Chicago’s program. She said nine out of 10 buildings complied even right after the ordinance took effect, thanks to years of organizing by city leaders and NGOs like the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“A large number of building owners recognized this was coming. They engaged in the process, and saw their fingerprints within the ordinance,” said Lindy Wordlaw, director of climate and environmental justice initiatives for the city of Chicago.
Chicago passed an additional ordinance creating an energy rating program, where buildings receive a score of 0 to 4 based on their energy benchmarking results. An 11-by-17-inch placard with the score and explanation must be publicly posted, “similar to a food safety rating for a restaurant,” Wordlaw said.
In 2021, Chicago reported that median energy use per square foot had dropped by 7% over the past three years, and greenhouse gas emissions had dropped 37% since 2016 in buildings subject to the ordinance. City public housing and buildings owned by the Archdiocese were among those to do early benchmarking and investments.
Along with Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C., Chicago was among the nation’s first major cities to institute benchmarking. Jewel said they hope to keep sharing lessons learned.
For example, “it’s actually pretty hard to come up with the covered buildings list,” Jewel noted, since there is no central list of all buildings in a city but rather various records “all used for slightly different purposes — the property tax database, different sources tracking violations. It took a bit of time to get that list together, and it takes time to maintain it as buildings are constructed or demolished.”
In Indianapolis, Trameri said they are hopeful more buildings will get with the program as awareness grows about the requirement.
“There has always been evidence that you can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Trameri. “It’s a market-based strategy. Truly once a facilities owner or manager is able to look at their energy usage over a month, 12 months, or multiple years and make evidence-based decisions based on that data, it will affect your bottom line, and those savings you can reinvest into whatever your organization’s mission is.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misattributed performance information about Bloomberg Philanthropies’ sustainable cities initiative.
Amid a surge in utility shutoffs, and in the face of a groundbreaking study finding racial disparities in those outcomes, Minnesota’s largest utility is taking a closer look at the issue.
In a November agreement with consumer groups and the state’s Public Utilities Commission, Xcel Energy has outlined a series of steps to provide more information to customers and make it easier for them to restore service.
Xcel also agreed to hire an outside consultant to conduct a one-year study of disparity issues related to disconnections and outages and, separately, do its own analysis of outages. The move came in response to a University of Minnesota study released earlier this year that found that people of color were more likely than White households to have their service disconnected for falling behind on bills, even when controlling for income and home ownership status.
The agreement falls short of a demand from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office for Xcel to institute a temporary moratorium on shutoffs until racial disparities are addressed, based on a recommendation from Fresh Energy and a coalition formed by Cooperative Energy Futures, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Sierra Club, and Vote Solar.
Erica McConnell, staff attorney for the Environmental Law & Policy Center, represented the clean energy organizations advocating for grid equity. She supported the agreement but believes it will do little to help reduce disparities in shutoffs.
“These are very important improvements that don’t really address — and the commission didn’t discuss — the disparate impacts and the racial disparity (of disconnections) and how to address that specifically,” she said.
A temporary moratorium on disconnections would have allowed for time to study disparities and find ways to address them.
“The commission didn’t talk about that,” McConnell said. “They didn’t address it at all, so that was disappointing. I understand it’s uncomfortable and it’s a tough issue, but it’s disappointing they shied away taking it head on.”
Shutoffs soaring
Beyond the challenge of disparities, Xcel’s number of service disconnections has skyrocketed. More than 45,000 Xcel customers saw their power shut off this year, a number that has grown significantly over the last two decades.
Xcel agreed to many proposals from the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, the Energy CENTS Coalition, clean energy organizations and the Public Utilities Commission to create more consumer protection against shutoffs.
Xcel Energy’s involuntary disconnection notices began rising significantly in 2023 before skyrocketing in 2024, when shutoffs doubled the prior year’s total for May through July. Despite Minnesota’s cold weather protection rules that limit disconnections during the winter through April 30, shutoffs even grew during the winter months.
This chart, based on Xcel Energy data and submitted by consumer and clean energy groups to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, shows a sharp increase in utility shutoffs in 2023 and 2024, which the groups attribute to the utility’s new ability to use smart meters to disconnect customers remotely. Credit: Minnesota PUC Docket E002/M-24-27
Clean energy and consumer organizations point to Xcel’s ability to remotely disconnect customers who have smart meters as a major reason for the shutoffs, along with inflation, escalating rate increases and challenging repayment requirements. Xcel had demanded customers pay 50% of what they owe to reconnect, which may have violated Minnesota law, according to the Citizens Utility Board.
Xcel’s pact with the Citizens Utility Board and Energy CENTS “is going to make payment agreements more affordable and hopefully help households that are behind on their bills avoid getting shut off and get caught back up,” said Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota.
The utility board and Energy CENTS Coalition forged the agreement with Xcel under the purview of the Public Utilities Commission, which will issue a final order later. The agreement requires the following:
Customers will pay 10% of what they owe to have the power turned back on, instead of 50%.
The amount due will have to be at least $180 before Xcel can send a disconnect notice.
Xcel cannot shut off power until a customer reaches a $300 past due balance. Xcel’s data from this year showed disconnected customers were $441 in arrears on average in October and much higher in other months.
The utility must wait at least 10 days after a shutoff notice has been sent to disconnect, up from five days.
Xcel must post clear disconnection and payment policies on its website, along with information about customers’ right to develop an affordable repayment plan. Any changes Xcel makes to shutoff policies and repayments have to be reported to the commission, and it must collect data on repayments and customer agreements.
A variance allowing remote disconnections without field visits from Xcel remains, but the utility must contact customers via voicemail and use at least one other form of electronic communication.
Xcel spokesperson Kevin Coss said the utility believes “this agreement is a great step toward reducing disconnections for some of our customers who continue to struggle economically.”
Options for customers
George Shardlow, Energy CENTS executive director, said he thought a clearer explanation of the disconnection process on Xcel’s website brings a transparency that had been lacking.
“I don’t think the average person even knows that they have a right to negotiate when they’re struggling to pay their bills,” he said. “It’s all sort of opaque. We’re excited to see better documentation of people’s rights on Xcel’s website.”
Minnesota law says utility customers are “entitled” to a payment plan they can afford, Shardlow said. Customers who cannot afford the 10% down payment can still negotiate for a settlement that fits their budget, he added.
Shutoffs have been growing. This year Xcel sent disconnection notices to 51,000 customers in January and 71,000 in July. But not all notices result in shutoffs. The highest month for disconnections, May, saw more than 10,000 shutoffs. By August, slightly more than 8,400 customers had been disconnected.
Coss said Xcel works with customers to avoid disconnection by starting a nine-week process of contacting them through multiple channels to “point them to available options for energy assistance — both through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and our own affordability programs — and offer flexible payment plans tailored to their circumstances.”
Minnesota also has cold weather protections that greatly reduce utilities’ ability to disconnect customers in winter months. But people who fail to pay their bills in winter see their balances grow, leading to higher disconnections in summer when they fail to catch up.
Xcel agreed to monitor progress and collect more data on racial disparities involving customers involuntarily shut off. The utility has already hired a third party evaluator, as the agreement requires, to study its shutoff policies and hold stakeholder engagement meetings during the year-long process.
Coss said disparities result in inequities throughout society and Xcel has been doing its part to address them. The utility has worked with the study’s authors and advocacy groups to identify actions to reduce disparities, he said.
Earlier this year, the commission also approved a proposal by Xcel for a pilot program that will provide bill credits to select census tracts with high levels of disconnections. Coss said Xcel will provide $500 bill credits to customers in low-income census areas who have a greater than $2,000 past-due balance, using money available from a quality of service program.
Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioner Joe Sullivan said he believed the agreement negotiated among the nonprofits and utility would reduce the financial strain on households facing disconnections and assist Xcel in recovering debt.
“I thought that in that docket people came together and were constructive,” he said. “I feel like I’m hopeful that the order will make some progress.”
PUC Chair Katie Sieben said the commission is “always looking at affordability, and especially as it pertains to low-income customers, I think we have a great track record on working with stakeholders and with utilities to provide robust low-income assistance to customers.”
She mentioned the commission’s role in approving an Xcel pilot to decrease payments for low-income, low-usage customers and a September decision that used a penalty for the utility’s service quality underperformance to provide bill credits to around 1,000 customers with the oldest outstanding balances in low-income census tracts.
‘Still more work to do’
The agreement does not solve the problem of low-income customers struggling to pay utility bills. Shardlow said Energy CENTS and the Citizens Utility Board lobbied the state legislature to allow households to apply for energy assistance funding the entire year instead of the current policy of having a deadline of May 31. Only 20% of eligible Minnesota households participate in the program, he said.
Levenson-Falk wants Xcel to consider eliminating the 1.5% late fee it charges customers on their balance, or consider donating the money to affordability programs.
The Citizens Utility Board also wants Xcel to develop a plan to reconnect customers quickly on days of high heat or poor air quality. Coss said Xcel will evaluate reconnecting customers disconnected during days of air quality alerts.
Levenson-Falk said the agreement at least makes progress. “I think we resolved everything that we had discussed with Xcel but that’s not to say that we think this is going to solve the problem, because, of course, there are still going to be continuing shutoffs, and those are still very concerning,” she said. “There’s still more work to do.”
This story was updated to include a statement from Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Chair Katie Sieben.
Fresh Energy staff, board members and funders do not have access to or oversight of the Energy News Network’s editorial process. More about our relationship with Fresh Energy can be found in our code of ethics.
This story was originally published by Canary Media.
California has long led the way on electric vehicles, but another Western state is challenging the Golden State’s top spot.
Between July and September, nearly 25 percent of the vehicles registered in Colorado were electric or plug-in hybrids. In California, that figure was just over 24 percent. It’s not enough to crown Colorado the new undisputed leader in EVs, but it’s a notable milestone — no other state has ever surpassed California in terms of EV registrations, according to James Di Filippo, principal policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy.
It’s the culmination of a “pretty dramatic” trend line for Colorado’s EV adoption since the start of 2023, Di Filippo said. Coloradans bought just over 41,000 EVs last year, up from roughly 23,000 in 2022.
Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, announced the accomplishment last week, touting it as a sign of the state’s commitment to reaching its climate goals and improving air quality. “This new data shows that demand for EVs continues to increase and especially with competitive state and federal rebates, drastically cutting the cost of an EV and saving people money,” Polis said in a press release.
Colorado has some of the most generous incentives for EV sales in the country, Di Filippo said. Its policies and incentives have helped make the cars more affordable, while the state’s investments in charging infrastructure have made owning an electric car more practical.
All Coloradans can receive a $5,000 state tax credit for purchasing or leasing a new EV or plug-in hybrid priced up to $80,000. That credit is available through the end of this year, then will decrease to $3,500 starting in 2025. EVs valued under $35,000 are eligible for an additional tax credit of $2,500 — for a total potential state credit of $7,500.
Through the Vehicle Exchange Colorado program, income-qualified residents can trade in old or highly polluting gas cars in exchange for a $6,000 rebate to put toward a new EV or plug-in hybrid purchase or lease, or $4,000 for a used one.
The state tax credits and the vehicle-exchange rebates can be combined with federal tax credits, which currently offer up to $7,500 for a new EV lease or purchase or $4,000 for a used EV.
The state has also worked over the past few years to install more public chargers. There are currently over 5,500 public charging ports across Colorado. This year, the state plans to install another 576 ports using $5 million in funding from the Colorado Energy Office.
In 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected that 580,000 zero-emission vehicles would be sold in the U.S. in 2023. But actual sales last year were almost two and a half times greater at 1.43 million. This year, Cox Automotive expects sales to climb even higher, despite gloomy forecasts issued by some analysts earlier in 2024.
According to estimates from Kelley Blue Book, EV sales made up 8.9 percent of all vehicle sales in the country in the third quarter of this year — the highest share ever recorded, and an increase from 7.8 percent in the same time period last year.
The Biden administration set a goal for EVs to make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. As of this February, sales were on track to meet that goal, though the picture is more uncertain heading into the second Trump administration. The president-elect reportedly plans to eliminate federal EV tax credits and roll back Environmental Protection Agency tailpipe emissions rules — against the wishes of the nation’s largest automakers, including Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
Transportation is the single largest category of carbon emissions in the country, at 28 percent, driven mainly by trucks, SUVs, and other road vehicles.
Colorado has an even more aggressive EV goal than the federal government, aiming for 82 percent of all car sales to be electric by 2032. Looking ahead, EV registrations and sales in the state likely won’t continue to outpace California, Di Filippo said, since “the trend line for California is still steeper overall.”
“This isn’t necessarily a story of Colorado just beating California out right,” he said. “This is really a story of EV success.”
Living in a net-zero home is often a luxury for those who can afford solar panels, state-of-the-art HVAC and other innovations and renovations.
But lower-income people are those who could benefit most from energy cost savings, and those who suffer most from extreme climate. Milwaukee is trying to address this disconnect by building net-zero homes for low-income buyers in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a marquee project of the city’s 2023 Climate and Equity Plan.
In September, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $3.4 million grant that will go toward Milwaukee’s construction of 35 homes on vacant lots in disadvantaged neighborhoods and the opening of a factory to make wall panels for net-zero manufactured homes.
City leaders have found the undertaking more challenging than expected, especially on the factory front. But they hope overcoming roadblocks will help create a new local and regional market for energy-efficient, affordable prefabricated homes, while also training a new generation of architects in the sector through partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
“It remains an ambitious project,” said Milwaukee environmental sustainability director Erick Shambarger. “We’re trying to support equity, climate, new technology, manufacturing. It takes some time, but we’re excited about it and looking forward to making it a success.”
Panelized, prefabricated homes can be built relatively cheaply, but making them highly energy efficient is a different story. A handful of small companies nationwide make the wall panels used in such construction to highly energy-efficient standards, but transporting the panels is expensive and creates greenhouse gas emissions.
The city sought a local manufacturer, but an initial request for proposals yielded no viable candidates. Now the city and UWM professors are working with the Rocky Mountain Institute to convince a qualified company to open a site in Milwaukee to make energy-efficient panelized home components at commercial scale, for both the city and private customers.
“It’s such a great fit for Milwaukee,” said Lucas Toffoli, a principal in RMI’s carbon-free buildings program. “It’s a city that has a very strong blue-collar tradition, so the idea of bringing back some manufacturing, and leveling up the home-building capacity of the city feels very congruent with the spirit of Milwaukee.”
And panelized homes could be a cornerstone of affordable, energy-efficient housing nationwide if the sector was better organized and incentivized, RMI argues — a goal that Milwaukee could help further.
“Local action always drives a message in a way that federal action doesn’t,” Toffoli said. “It will be even more important under the incoming presidential administration and Congress. Having this project getting started at the local level in an important Midwestern city is a way to help ensure that progress continues at some level, even if it’s less of a priority at the federal level.”
Panel problems
Habitat for Humanity builds its own panels in its Milwaukee warehouse, and is working on an energy-efficient panelized design that it hope will yield the first net-zero affordable homes in 2025. Milwaukee has yet to select a developer for the DOE-funded program, but Milwaukee Habitat was a partner in the DOE grant and CEO Brian Sonderman said the organization is hopeful it will be chosen during an RFP process.
Single-family homes are typically “stick built” from the ground up, with 2×4 or similar boards forming a skeleton and then, one by one, walls. Panelized homes involve walls transported intact to the site.
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity often uses a hybrid method wherein walls are “stick built” laying on their side in the Habitat warehouse, and then brought to the site where volunteers help assemble the new house.
There are various other methods of making panels that don’t involve lumber, UWM Associate Professor Alexander Timmer explained, and making these models highly energy efficient is still an emerging and decentralized field.
“It’s the chicken-or-the-egg problem in some sense,” Timmer said, since component manufacturers don’t know if there’s a market for energy-efficient panelized homes, and developers don’t build the homes because few component suppliers exist.
Wall panels can involve two sheets of plywood with insulation in between, or a steel interior surrounded by rigid insulation, among other models.
“With 2x4s, any small crew can build a home,” said Timmer. “With panelized, you need a factory, specialized tools, specialized knowledge. The hope is we are graduating architects into the market who know these technologies and techniques, and can design them to high energy efficiency standards. The city needs architects and builders who want to do these things and feel comfortable doing them.”
Toffoli touted the benefits of net-zero homes beyond the carbon emissions and utility bill savings.
“There’s less draftiness, greater comfort throughout the whole home,” said Toffoli. “In addition to making the heater run less to warm the air, there’s a big comfort benefit and acoustic benefit,” with little noise or pollutants filtering into the well-sealed home.
“In the middle of a severe Wisconsin winter storm, [if] power goes out for everyone, you have a home that can basically ride through harsh conditions passively much better,” Toffoli added.
Toffoli said examples in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts show panelized, highly energy-efficient homes can be built at costs not much greater than standard market panelized homes. A different design, including thinner studs and more insulation, means less heat or cold is transported from the outside in. Insulation and highly efficient windows cost more than market rate, but smaller appliances can be used because of the efficiency, helping to mitigate the cost increase.
He said mass production of net-zero panelized homes is much more efficient and cost-effective than stick-built energy-efficient homes.
“You don’t need to, every time, find a contractor who understands the proper sequence of control layers for a very high-performance wall,” Toffoli said. “It’s been done in part in a factory where they’re plugging and chugging on a design that’s been validated and repeated.”
The DOE grant includes $1 million for Milwaukee to incentivize construction of the panel factory, $40,000 each toward 25 homes, plus funds for administration and other costs. Shambarger said $40,000 per home will cover the construction cost difference between an affordable home that merely complies with building codes, and one that is net-zero – meeting federal standards with a highly efficient envelope, an electric heat pump and solar panels.
Shambarger noted that the city funding and business will not be enough to motivate a company to build a new factory in Milwaukee.
“Any company is going to have to have a customer base” beyond the city orders, Shambarger said. “We’ll have to make sure other housing developers like the product that companies have, that it’s cost effective. One of the things we learned the first time around is most of the developers really didn’t understand how to do net-zero energy. We want to make sure the product we select fits within Milwaukee neighborhoods, will work in our climate, has buy-in from the community.”
Local jobs would be created by the factory, which is slated to be in Century City, the neighborhood with the most vacant manufacturing space.
“Overall with the climate and equity plan, we are trying to create good-paying jobs that people want,” Shambarger said. “That often means the trades. One of the things attractive about building housing components in a factory is it offers steady year-round employment, rather than having to go on unemployment for the winter,” as many building tradespeople do.
Creating Habitat
Sonderman said that in the past, Milwaukee Habitat has put solar on some homes, but little else specifically to lower energy costs.
“Clearly if there was a really substantial market for developers who were interested and willing to do this work, the reality is Habitat wouldn’t be the first call,” he said. “It’s something new. One of the things we’re looking forward to is sharing with our Habitat network in the state and other developers and builders, so we build some confidence this can be done efficiently and cost-effectively.”
Net-zero homes are not only a way to fight climate change, but an environmental and economic justice issue in predominantly Black neighborhoods scarred by redlining and disinvestment, where the majority of residents are renters, Sonderman added.
“Even for the individuals who don’t live in that home but live in the neighborhood, it breathes hope, it says that our neighborhood is being invested in,” Sonderman said. “That matters deeply for the residents of Lindsay Heights, Harambee, Midtown and elsewhere. To take a project like this and see it come to fruition has tremendous ripple effect in a positive way.”
Several other Habitat chapters nationwide are building net-zero homes, including in Colorado, Illinois and Oregon.
Milwaukee Habitat is planning to build 34 homes in 2025 and up to 60 homes annually by 2028. Sonderman said they will make as many as possible net-zero.
“We’re not in a capacity to be the full-scale factory [Shambarger] was envisioning,” he said. “But we believe we’ll be able to supply the walls we need to build dozens and dozens of net-zero homes in the future.”
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Alison Wiley is a transportation electrification professional who helps bus fleets make the transition from diesel to electric. She produces the the 
