The Current/FW: What's Lost when Solar Loses Support

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From: The Current GA <st...@thecurrentga.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 6:12 AM
Subject: What's Lost when Solar Loses Support

 

A Savannah church gets solar as federal funding for similar installations is revoked.

 

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025

 

Good morning! We focus first today on what one church's rooftop solar project can tell us about solar's future in Georgia. We then turn to the outlook for EV manufacturing and adoption in Georgia. Finally, we have a tale of a shorebird that took a very long flight through a hurricane and kept going.

 

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.l...@thecurrentga.org

 

 

FEATURE: ENVIRONMENT

 

Technicians with Sunpath Solar install solar panels at the Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah on Sept. 11, 2025.

 

Solar setback

 

The Trump administration has pulled back $156 million in funding for Georgia Bright's solar leasing program, designed to offer low-income households the opportunity to benefit from solar energy without the high upfront costs of installation. But the program's pilot is still installing a few last solar arrays, including on the roof of Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah, as The Current's Mary Landers reports. The Asbury project, expected to save the congregation $330,000 over 25 years, offers a glimpse at what Georgia stands to lose with the claw back of this federal funding. Despite the setback, solar advocates have vowed to find ways to continue to make the technology available to low income households.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY

 

 

NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

 

Savannah city electric vehicles get a charge at the city's administration building

 

EVs are 1 in 100 in Chatham

 

Chatham County hit a milestone of sorts recently when it surpassed 1% of its registered vehicles being fully electric, according to records kept by the Georgia Department of Revenue. That's 2,650 EVs in a county where 264,437 vehicles are registered.

 

The steady increase in EV purchases in Chatham is reflected across the region, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports. Despite some recent setbacks, the Southeast is still investing in electric vehicle manufacturing, with Georgia leading the way in new factories, though it lags behind other states in EV adoption and funding.

 

If you're interested in learning how cleanly different vehicle type run, check out this Lifetime Vehicle Emissions Calculator from the University of Michigan. It allows users to compare the carbon footprint of various types of vehicles taking, into account the source of electricity by county.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY

 

 

FEATURE: ENVIRONMENT

 

LN5 being fitted with a transmitter on South Carolina's Little Bull Island in May (S.C. DNR)

 

Bird versus Hurricane Erin

 

On Aug. 15, a red knot known by its leg band code LN5 beelined south across the Atlantic and into Tropical Storm Erin as the storm grew into a hurricane near the Caribbean, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources "Georgia Wild" newsletter reports.

 

The shorebird flew at about half its normal 38 mph speed before plunging into Erin, according to Fletcher Smith, DNR senior wildlife biologist. But the red knot -- a type of sandpiper -- made it through the storm before Erin exploded into a category 5 hurricane. LN5 landed in Suriname on Aug. 16, completing a five-day, non-stop Arctic-to-South America flight of more than 3,800 miles. At last check the bird was in a nature reserve on the Suriname coast.

 

Like last year’s similar tale of *H7, this storm survivor is part of a project tracking red knot populations that stopover in Georgia and South Carolina. In the process, the project is mapping the amazing migrations these threatened birds make twice a year.

 

 

Also noted

 

A recent meeting of the Georgia House Rural Development Committee focused on how the timber industry will be affected by the closure of two International Paper mills, as Dave Williams of Capitol Beat reports. One suggested solution that could have big climate change consequences: Convert more Georgia pine into wood pellets and burn it for electricity.

 

 

Join Coastal Wildscapes from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Ashantilly Center, 15591 Highway 99, Darien, GA for the annual Fall Native Plant Sale. Four native plant vendors will be on site. Pre-orders are strongly encouraged. Check out vendor inventories here.

 

 

The public is invited to provide input to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission about upcoming potential changes to red drum management in Georgia at a meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 24 at the  Sapelo Saltwater Fishing Club, 3576 Old Shellman Road, Townsend.

 

 

Georgia DNR is again offering a $1,000 grant to a kindergarten through fifth-grade public or private school teacher in the state who demonstrates exceptional energy and innovation in teaching life sciences. The grant recipient will be recognized as the DNR Conservation Teacher of the Year. Teachers who apply must use Georgia’s native animals, plants and habitats as the context for covering Georgia Standards of Excellence. Although the grant emphasizes life science, cross-curricular teaching is highly encouraged. The deadline to apply is Nov. 3, 2025. For more, visit georgiawildlife.com/TeachingConservationGrant or contact DNR's Linda May (email or 706-319-0211) or Anna Yellin (email or 678-459-8393).

 

 

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Solar on a Savannah church highlights losses from federal cutbacks Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah is installing a solar array to reduce its electric bill and carbon footprint, thanks to a successful statewide pilot program that was set to ramp up but had to close due to the Trump Administration’s defunding of the Solar for All program. Continue reading…

 

Report: It’s too soon to gauge Trump’s impact on EV industry Despite some recent setbacks, the Southeast is still investing in electric vehicle manufacturing, with Georgia leading the way in new factories, though it lags behind other states in EV adoption and funding. Continue reading…

 

Georgia timber industry faces struggle as large mills close International Paper’s decision to close two pulp and paper mills in Coastal Georgia will have a far-reaching impact on the local economy, affecting more than 1,100 jobs and leaving 4.5 million tons of timber without a buyer. Continue reading…

 

 

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