Protect Your Yield

Nexamp, the nation’s largest fully integrated distributed generation and community solar provider, and TurningPoint Energy, a leading community solar and energy storage developer, celebrated the successful commissioning of two community solar projects in Minonk, Illinois, with a ribbon cutting ceremony on the reclaimed former coal mine site in Woodford County. Together, the two solar farms transform legacy fossil fuel land into a long-term source of clean, reliable energy for area residents, businesses, and institutions.

The two Minonk community solar projects have a combined capacity of 9.8 Megawatts (MWdc) and together utilize 16,950 solar panels across roughly 40 acres, sending energy directly to the ComEd grid. Both are powered by 100% U.S.-manufactured modules, underscoring a shared commitment to domestic clean energy supply chains and local job creation.

Built above a former mine that extracted from the Colchester Coal Seam for approximately 75 years in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the projects are certified brownfield sites under the Illinois Shines program, earning credits for returning previously disturbed land to productive use. They also represent the first Illinois Shines community solar development in Woodford County. This milestone reflects the county’s leadership in embracing shared solar as a path to economic development and environmental restoration.

“Standing on this former coal site today and seeing it continue its role in powering our communities is a powerful symbol of Illinois’ energy future,” said State Senator Chris Balkema. “This Minonk community solar project demonstrates how we can build on our energy heritage while embracing new opportunities. I support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, and emerging technologies—because affordable, reliable energy is essential for lowering costs for families, attracting investment, and supporting quality jobs right here in Woodford County.”

“For generations before us, this land represented our community’s role in powering Illinois with fossil fuels; today, it represents our role in powering Illinois with the clean energy of the future,” added Minonk Mayor Russell Ruestman. “Additionally, I am proud that these projects can deliver savings to local residents and institutions, make productive use of a former coal site, and demonstrate what’s possible when public and private partners work together.”

The Minonk projects are among the first in ComEd’s system to incorporate Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS), a smart grid technology that monitors and manages distributed energy resources in real time. By integrating DERMS across both community solar arrays, the projects help ComEd more effectively balance load, manage variability, and enable clean energy to flow more smoothly on the grid, supporting reliability as Illinois continues to scale up renewable generation.

“We have been grateful to collaborate with Nexamp on one of the first projects on our system to use DERMs, which supports more flexible and efficient interconnection of community solar,” said Mark Baranek, Senior Vice President, Technical Services, ComEd. “Nexamp continues to demonstrate its ability to innovate as it creates greater access to renewable energy throughout Illinois.”

The two Minonk community solar projects are nearly fully subscribed, with more than 650 unique participants demonstrating strong local and regional interest in shared renewable energy. One project serves approximately 450 residential customers, while the second includes approximately 200 low-income residential subscribers, expanding access to clean energy savings for historically underserved households. The projects also feature two prominent institutional anchor subscribers: Rush University Medical Center and the College of DuPage. Together, these two institutions account for 40 percent of the combined projects’ total offtake, providing a stable foundation that helps enable broader community participation.

“If we’re truly committed to improving health outcomes, we have to look beyond our hospital walls,” said Ian Hughes, Director of Environmental Sustainability at Rush. “Community solar is preventative medicine—it reduces harmful emissions, improves the air quality in vulnerable communities, and moves us closer to the healthier, more sustainable future our patients deserve.”

Developed by TurningPoint Energy and built, owned and operated by Nexamp, these Minonk projects are the first collaboration between the two companies in Illinois. Together, they represent a significant addition to the state’s solar generating capacity and contribute to Illinois’ long-term goal of replacing 100 percent of its existing energy sources with renewable energy by 2050. The projects were constructed using prevailing wage labor, with qualified laborers on site throughout the build, ensuring that the economic benefits of the clean energy transition are shared with skilled workers and local communities.

“This is exactly the kind of project we aspire to deliver with our partners and our customers,” noted Zaid Ashai, CEO, Nexamp. “By turning a former coal mine into a pair of community solar farms, we are helping hundreds of subscribers reduce their energy costs today while strengthening their energy security for the long term. By pairing that affordability with U.S.-manufactured equipment and advanced grid tools like DERMS, these Minonk projects not only put clean power within reach for households and institutions, they also show how community solar can make the grid smarter, more resilient, and better prepared for Illinois’ clean energy future.”

“The successful completion of the Minonk community solar projects reflects both the strength of our partnership with Nexamp and the role community solar must play in meeting Illinois’ long-term energy objectives,” said Salar Naini, President of TurningPoint Energy. “By transforming a former coal site into a long-term clean energy resource, we are demonstrating how smart policy, private investment, and experienced development partners can work together to repurpose legacy energy assets into solutions that advance affordability, reliability, and decarbonization.”

Nexamp | www.nexamp.com

TurningPoint Energy | turningpoint-energy.com

The Department of the Interior announced another agreement to buy back four offshore wind leases in California, New York, and the Gulf of Maine from Invenergy, claiming it furthers energy security and affordability. The developer will be reimbursed their lease sale fees and committed to  making financial investments in natural gas and geothermal energy projects in the U.S.

In response, Oceantic Network has released the following statement from Sam Salustro, SVP of Policy & Market Affairs: 

"The administration’s plan to pay Invenergy $765 million to walk away from legally executed offshore wind leases is an unlawful misuse of taxpayer dollars and the latest tactic to derail domestic energy development while energy prices soar. Rather than supporting large-scale, homegrown energy solutions which are already delivering savings for Northeast residents, these actions undermine local economies and threaten American jobs and energy affordability. States are already stepping up to defend their energy futures and must continue to do so. These continued attacks ignore billions in private investment and state commitments and will leave consumers paying more while viable projects are dismantled for a personal vendetta. This administration's legacy will be seizing $2.5 billion from taxpayers to stop affordable energy as families struggle to pay their energy bills."

Oceantic estimates the cancellation of a single 1 GW offshore wind project permanently erases $8.5–$9.5 billion in U.S. economic output, based on peer reviewed modeling and operational project benchmarks from the East Coast. On average, about 3,350 construction jobs nationwide are lost, with substantial impacts on the in-state workforce depending on the project’s location, accompanied by hundreds of millions of dollars in lost wages.

Oceantic Network | https://oceantic.org/

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Vote Solar, striking down the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC) approval of discriminatory charges for customers of Arizona Public Service (APS) who have rooftop solar. In its decision, the Arizona Court of Appeals vacated the solar fees, ruling that they were imposed in an unfair manner that violated due process requirements. Vote Solar was represented by the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (ACLPI) and Earthjustice.

APS is a regulated utility that provides power to approximately 1.4 million households and businesses across Arizona. The solar fees, which were created at the conclusion of APS’s 2022 rate case, currently amount to roughly $2 to $3 in additional monthly charges for households with rooftop solar. APS has proposed to increase the fees to roughly $6 per month in its current rate case, which is currently under consideration at the ACC. Vote Solar, ACLPI, and Earthjustice are opposing the fee in that case as well. 

Vote Solar’s West Senior Regulatory Director, Kate Bowman, issued the following statement: 

“As Arizonans brace themselves for another hot summer, and yet another rate hike by APS, today’s decision marks an important step forward towards a fairer and more affordable energy system. Monopoly utilities should not be allowed to impose unjustified charges on households that choose to lower their utility bills by installing solar.

Investments in rooftop solar help families lower their monthly energy costs while also providing benefits to the grid. Solar electricity sends power to the grid on hot, sunny days when it is most needed, helping to reduce costs for everyone, even those without solar panels themselves. Now, it is up to the Arizona Corporation Commission to side with communities and officially eliminate APS’s attempts to impose discriminatory solar fees.” 

Vote Solar | https://votesolar.org/

ChargeHub announces that ChargeHub Plus, its EV charging membership, is now available on Android. First introduced to iOS users, the membership has been embraced by early members looking for a simpler, more predictable way to charge on public networks. ChargeHub is now expanding that access to Android drivers across North America.

ChargeHub consolidates charging stations from multiple networks in one app, one place to find, activate, and pay, without juggling accounts. ChargeHub Plus builds on that foundation: for one fixed monthly or annual price, members see their per-session roaming fee waived for charging sessions across 40+ compatible networks in the US and Canada. 
The ChargeHub app remains free, with its full suite of tools for locating, filtering, trip planning, navigation, and paying to charge at stations across multiple networks. ChargeHub Plus is an optional add-on for drivers who regularly charge on public networks and want to eliminate per-session roaming fees.

The membership is currently available in two options: a monthly plan and an annual plan, offering flexibility for drivers with different usage patterns. Both plans are available through the ChargeHub app and can be managed on iOS and Android.

"Since launching ChargeHub Plus on iOS, we've seen that drivers who charge frequently on different public networks genuinely value the simplicity and economy of one membership across multiple networks. Expanding to Android means that convenience is now available to even more drivers, wherever they charge across North America."
— Simon Ouellette, CEO, ChargeHub

ChargeHub | https://chargehub.com/en/

K2 Pure Solutions and PACC Services, LLC announced a Hydrogen Supply Agreement (HSA) with ZeroUp Energy, Inc., a California-based hydrogen solutions provider focused on transitioning public and private fleets to clean, zero-emission fuels. The agreement will provide ZeroUp with a dedicated supply of low-carbon hydrogen from K2's chlor-alkali facility in Pittsburg, California, supporting ZeroUp's mobile fueling deployments for transit agencies across Northern and Southern California.

The agreement carries particular significance in the context of California's Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation, which requires public transit agencies to transition their bus fleets to zero-emission technologies and mandates the use of renewable fuels for agencies operating fuel cell electric buses. K2's low-carbon hydrogen will be produced via a pathway targeted to meet the renewable fuel standards of the ICT framework, addressing one of the most persistent barriers to fuel cell bus adoption at scale across California.

ZeroUp brings more than a decade of direct hydrogen fueling, fuel-cell vehicle support, and station operations experience to public transit programs across California. The company currently supplies hydrogen to Omnitrans in San Bernardino under a multi-year contract and is actively engaged with agencies such as the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority (StanRTA), which is deploying fuel cell electric buses and requires a mobile hydrogen fueling solution ahead of revenue service. In both cases, a locally sourced, low-carbon hydrogen supply at competitive economics is central to making those programs work.

"Transit agencies need supply they can count on at a price point that actually works - and when that supply is produced on a pathway targeted to meet California's renewable fuel standards under the ICT regulation, it removes a real compliance headache for them," said Jonathan Palacios-Avila, Executive at ZeroUp Energy. "K2 is a proven producer with a track record of reliability, and their hydrogen will meet the quality and carbon intensity standards that transit programs require. This agreement gives us the supply foundation to grow our fueling programs in both Northern and Southern California and deliver what agencies like Omnitrans and StanRTA are counting on us to deliver."

Hydrogen produced at K2's Pittsburg facility is generated as a byproduct of its existing chlor-alkali manufacturing process, an inherently low-carbon production pathway that requires no natural gas reforming or standalone electrolysis infrastructure. The hydrogen consistently will meet or exceed SAE J2719 purity standards required for fuel cell vehicle applications. K2's facility is targeting commercial availability in Q3 2026, with PACC Services serving as exclusive commercial partner responsible for contracting, logistics coordination, and supply chain management.

"ZeroUp has the operational experience and the agency relationships to put hydrogen to work on the ground where it matters," said Howard Brodie, CEO of K2 Pure Solutions. "Our facility was built on decades of operational excellence and process safety, and our hydrogen will be produced on a low-carbon pathway we believe is targeted to meet California's renewable fuel standards. That is a meaningful credential for the transit agencies ZeroUp serves, and it is something we will earn through the way we operate. This is exactly the kind of collaboration our hydrogen program was designed to support."

"The ICT regulation creates real, durable demand for low-carbon hydrogen across California's transit sector, and transit agencies need supply partners who can deliver on both the compliance and the economics," said Andrew Carman, Chief Executive Officer of PACC Services. "K2's targeted low-carbon production pathway, paired with ZeroUp's field experience and PACC's commercial infrastructure, is exactly the kind of integrated supply chain those agencies have been waiting for. We structured this agreement to support programs that are running today and scale as California's FCEB fleet grows."

The ZeroUp HSA adds to PACC's growing portfolio of committed offtake collaborations ahead of K2's planned commercial launch and reflects PACC's role as the commercial bridge between K2's production capacity and the end-use markets that need it most.

K2 Pure Solutions | https://k2pure.com/ 

ZeroUp Energy | https://www.zeroimpactenergy.com/

PACC Services | www.pacc.services

Electrify America opened a new large-format electric vehicle (EV) charging station in Santa Barbara, Calif., expanding access to fast, seamless and convenient EV charging in the city's downtown core.

Located on the site of the former Greyhound Bus depot at 36 West Carrillo Street, this station offers 20 Hyper-Fast chargers. Each charger is capable of speeds up to 350 kilowatts (kW), which can add up to 20 miles of driving range per minute for EVs that accept high-power charging.

The new station also has a 1.9 megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system (BESS), which is Electrify America's largest public BESS deployment to date. The BESS stores energy from the electrical grid during low usage periods and when abundant solar energy is available. It then discharges this energy during high demand periods, helping to expand charging capacity, reduce stress on the grid and maximize use of renewable energy.

"This large-format station showcases the next evolution of charging infrastructure, combining high-power charging with integrated battery energy storage to deliver reliable capacity at scale," said Rob Barrosa, Electrify America President and CEO. "By incorporating advanced storage technology, we're able to bring Hyper-Fast charging to locations that have traditionally been difficult to serve, while making it easy for customers to integrate charging into their daily routines in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara."

The Carrillo Street location is the company's second in Santa Barbara, with the first station located at 3790 State Street. It's also one of Electrify America's four large-format stations in California, joining locations in Santa Monica, San Diego and San Francisco. These large-format stations with 20 or more chargers are part of Electrify America's strategy to reduce wait times and increase charging capacity in line with growing demand.

"With gas prices remaining a burden on working families, the move to electric is a matter of savings," said Senator Monique Limón, President pro Tempore of the California State Senate. "By expanding our public charging network, we are making it easier for Californians to choose a vehicle that costs significantly less to fuel and maintain. Our legislative goal is simple: make the cleanest choice the easiest and most affordable choice for every driver in the state."

At opening, the station will offer 20 chargers with CCS connectors. Later this summer, Electrify America will convert some of these CCS connectors to NACS as part of its ongoing NACS pilot program.

"Increasing charging infrastructure is critical for speeding up our statewide transition to zero-emission vehicles," said Gregg Hart, member of the California State Assembly for the 37th district. "As we help drivers make the shift, we are reducing California's carbon footprint, improving the air quality of our communities, and—importantly—saving consumers money at the gas pump. I am proud to support these efforts."

Electrify America | www.electrifyamerica.com