CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A report outlines how federal efforts to bring solar energy to one in four American households could bring clean energy to communities of all colors, incomes and backgrounds.

Supporters of the 30 Million Solar Homes Initiative said boosting participation in the Rural Energy Savings Program and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program could help more residents, farmers, and small businesses finance solar panels.

Robert Fernatt, advisor to Solar United Neighbors and president of the West Virginia Electric Auto Association, said more West Virginians are seeing the benefits of clean energy.

"National-security advocates, faith-based groups, people that are interested in personal energy independence, disaster preparedness," Fernatt outlined. "We like to say that solar has a large tent: it attracts a lot of different people for different reasons that we can all get behind. "

More than 300 energy equity, climate, business, environmental, faith, and public health organizations have signed a letter calling on Congress to enact the policy recommendations outlined in the report.

Katie Kienbaum, senior researcher for the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, said communities have much to gain from reducing use of fossil fuels.

"In the form of savings on your electric bills, or maybe a new job or career opportunity," Kienbaum explained. "In certain communities with peaker power plants, maybe those can be retired, when more of our energy is coming locally from our rooftops and from our own communities."

Fernatt added he installed solar four years ago, and saw a dramatic dip in monthly energy costs.

"My energy bill is $5 a month, every month, so it certainly reduces my energy cost," Fernatt emphasized.

If the 30 Million Solar Homes package is implemented as a whole, the federal government would invest a total of $137 billion over the next five years to help install local rooftop and community solar systems across the country, according to the authors of the report.

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a material as thin as an atom to reduce power consumption.

A national study showed by 2030, 9% of the country's energy will be consumed by data centers, keeping the internet, AI applications and other technology humming.

Matthew Panthani, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State University, and his team are focused on using light rather than heat to generate power for the data centers sprouting up close to home.

"Iowa seems to be a popular place to build data centers," Panthani observed. "Meta and other companies have built data centers, even in the Des Moines area. They're taking advantage of the relatively low electricity prices afforded by wind energy."

Panthani's lab is focused on developing atom-thin sheets of a silicon-germanium alloy which are stacked in layers and used to create highly energy efficient semiconductors, which can be used in power-hungry data centers.

Using light to transmit data is not new. Companies have used fiber optic technology to transmit light across oceans, for example. But Panthani pointed out doing it on a much smaller scale, such as between components on the computer chips in data centers, is something quite different.

"That's really because there isn't a material that can enable scalable, on-chip light sources," Panthani explained. "The materials that we're developing are intended to have properties, both the manufacturability and properties, that could enable that."

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the internet's 5.3 billion users can demand as much power as 800,000 households. It will sharply increase this decade, sending the demand even higher and making new technology like this even more important.


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Rising demands for clean energy efficiency are producing a wealth of work opportunities in Illinois. These in-demand jobs are also promoting a healthier environment. According to the Energy.gov report, Energy Facts: Impact of the Investing in America Agenda on Illinois, The Inflation Reduction Act will contribute to job increases by producing $18 billion of investment in clean power generation and storage by 2030. E2 is a nationwide network of business leaders that focuses on environmental and economic policy.

Michaela Preskill, state director of advocacy for E2, said Illinois' "robust and growing" clean energy jobs are driving economic growth.

"Clean energy jobs grew by over 4% last year, and that's eight times faster than the state's overall economy," she said.

Workers manufacturing Energy Star appliances are using advanced materials for the construction and servicing of homes and commercial buildings. These efforts result in cost-effective lighting and HVAC systems, Preskill noted, which saves consumers and homeowners money. The report also claims the Inflation Reduction Act means commercial building owners can receive up to $5 per square foot in tax credits to support energy efficiency improvements.

Clean energy industry watchers predict an 8% growth of employees in Illinois in 2025. Preskill said there is no indication the trend will slow down, but diversity is an issue. The site 'Save-on-energy-dot-com,' says women represent only 22% of workers in the energy sector and 32% in the renewable energy sector. She admits the field is traditionally male, but is optimistic for change.

"It's about 70% male, 30% female in Illinois. We are seeing that more and more females enter year after year. And I think it will slowly become more inclusive. But we got some work to do for sure," she explained.

The International Energy Agency site reports female employees in the energy sector earn nearly 20% less than male workers.

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package.

Assembly Bill 1866 would increase fees on 40,000 idle oil wells and accelerate cleanup.

Nayamin Martinez, executive director of the Central California Environmental Justice Network, said right now, companies often pay fees without actually cleaning up "orphan wells."

"The authorities are not proactively going and inspecting these sites," Martinez pointed out. "We have a program that goes to do inspections on active and abandoned uncapped wells, and we have found that many of them are leaking."

The Western States Petroleum Association argued current regulations are sufficient and companies are making progress plugging their idle wells.

A second measure, Assembly Bill 3233, would protect local communities' rights to limit oil drilling. It comes in response to a lawsuit from Chevron, eliminating a part of 'Measure Z' in Monterey County, which would have required companies to phase out oil drilling in that area.

Raquel Mason, senior legislative manager for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said oil wells leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and release other toxic substances into the air and water.

"Those pollutants that are coming off these wells can have different health-harming impacts like respiratory issues, different types of cancer, headaches, nosebleeds," Mason outlined. "We hear about too often from community members who are living near these types of facilities."

A third bill would fine oil companies in the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles $10,000 a month for operating low-producing wells near local neighborhoods.