ASC's Intersections Newsletter — January 31st, 2025
Nora’s Note
Pathways to high-quality, good-paying jobs. The ASC team is helping build a skills-training and jobs on-ramp for New Yorkers previously left out of the energy transition through partnerships between SUNY, CUNY, and ASC’s NYCCEE initiative. The CUNY Building Performance Lab (BPL) will add new schools this year, expanding offerings in building energy efficiency and electrification. And this week in the Bronx, ASC kicked off a NYSERDA-backed project to provide local high school students with after-school training in plumbing and building electrification. Through programs like these, we’re helping advance a stronger, cleaner, more inclusive economy for New Yorkers.
Transportation
From Scooters to Cars, Feds Give EV Charging a Funding Boost. The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation recently awarded over $43 million in Communities Taking Charge Accelerator grants to 25 projects across the United States to expand charging access and fleet electrification. Nine of these projects include work sites in New York, including pilots of micromobility charging solutions for low-income housing providers and lamppost charging near transit hubs. Read more to learn about other innovative projects the Accelerator will support. (Source: GovTech)
Smart Cities Dive: Surface transportation reauthorization a top priority for House T&I committee
Transport Topics: FMCSA Approves ATA Plan to Reduce Time to Certify Inspectors
Mass Transit: Decatur Public Transit rolls out new electric hybrid buses
Climate
Oregon to host nation’s largest solar-plus-storage installation. In northeast Oregon, 9,500 acres of farmland will be converted into a 1,200 MW solar-plus-storage project, the largest proposed facility of its kind in the US. The Sunstone Solar Project will generate enough electricity to power 800,000 homes annually and provide up to six hours of storage, surpassing the industry standard. Developers will also invest $11 million in local wheat farms to offset impacts on the agricultural economy. Read more about Sunstone Solar and the solar-plus-storage sector. (Source: Canary Media)
New Jersey Business Magazine: USDA Announces $16M+ in Clean Energy Funding Across State
Energy News Network: Illinois explores use of renewable energy credits to juice independent transmission projects
The Cool Down: Scientists unveil 3D-printed concrete with a surprising hidden benefit — here's how it will change construction
Economic Development
Pritzker signs bill to phase out subminimum wage for disabled workers in Illinois. House Bill 793, signed by Illinois’s Governer Pritzker, will eliminate subminimum wages for workers with disabilities in Illinois. The law phases out the use of 14(c) certificates, an exemption which allowed organizations to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage based on their relative productivity. To support these organizations and protect disabled workers’ jobs, the bill creates a transition grant program with funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services. Read more about the changes this bill presents. (Source: WSIU)
Digital
Indiana’s modernization designed to support AI enablement. Indiana’s Secretary of State’s Office is modernizing by migrating from legacy systems to the cloud, enabling AI-powered innovations like chatbots. Partnering with AWS, the state uses a "lift and shift" strategy to improve infrastructure, making AI integration more efficient and cost-effective. The state prioritizes data integrity, using internal scripts instead of web-sourced data. Additionally, AI will help process over 100 years of records. Read more on how AI will streamline operations. (Source: GovTech)
Gothamist: Gov. Hochul's NY school cellphone ban gets a warm reception in Albany
Route Fifty: California city taps AI to streamline government hiring
Axios: OpenAI's new Operator will do web tasks for you
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