Q&A: Louisiana climate guru talks emission reduction successes - NOLA.com

Louisiana climate guru talks emission reduction successes | Environment | nola.com

Gov. John Bel Edwards tapped former Louisiana Assistant Attorney Gen. Harry Vorhoff to chair the state's Climate Initiatives Task Force when it was created in 2020. Vorhoff is also deputy director of the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities. Just two months before Edwards leaves office, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate talked to Vorhoff about the climate program's accomplishments and goals. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you talk about some of the major accomplishments of the governor’s climate emission reduction efforts this year?

There are a lot of exciting investments that are happening in Louisiana. One is the $1.1 billion First Solar photovoltaic solar manufacturing facility in Acadiana, announced earlier this year, that’s expected to be completed in the first half of 2026. It’s the largest PV solar manufacturer in the western hemisphere and it just drives home the job creation opportunity of low carbon investments. It’s expected to create 700 new jobs, with a total annual payroll of $400 million. What they’re going to be making are what you think of when you think about solar power on rooftops or solar farms.

We’re also very excited about the HERO(Hubs for Resilient Energy Operations) announcement, a U.S. Department of Energy grant that the state Department of Natural Resources received. There’s a consortium of state agencies, utility companies, non-profits and universities, with $250 million of federal money and $250 million from the partners to implement a bunch of different projects, but focused on resilience. Some will be used to create microgrids, shared power systems for a group of homes or a community, using solar power with battery backup, that can be used when a hurricane knocks out power from the grid. This will allow certain strategic buildings or neighborhoods to have this backup, still have power in the aftermath of a hurricane, and it will minimize the impact from more intense storm events that climate change is causing.

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And we’re very excited about the federal offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico and the similar developments we’ll see if a plan for leases and operating agreements is finalized in state waters. There’s one lease already awarded in the Gulf of Mexico to RWE, a German energy utility. We’re excited to see a new form of energy potential being ushered in for the Gulf of Mexico. I think the lead time for that first project is probably a decade away before you might see a wind turbine, but the commercial interest there is very exciting.

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And the potential for wind development in state waters?

The State Mineral and Energy board is negotiating with several companies that are interested in taking out an operating agreement in state waters for offshore wind. There’s the potential that one lease can be finalized as early as next month.

And the Department of Natural Resources just put out a request for information as part of the beginning of a comprehensive offshore wind energy plan. Paring with that is the designation by the federal Economic Development Administration of the Gulf Louisiana Offshore Wind (GLOW) Propeller, a technology hub led by Louisiana State University that will oversee research and development involving offshore wind in the Gulf. The hub will focus on challenges to wind power in the Gulf, including lower wind speeds and resilience to hurricanes. The consortium received a $500,000 planning grant and will use that to compete for $50 million to $75 million in federal funds.

What is the state doing to reduce existing climate-related air emissions?

We’ve received $3 million from EPA to develop a “Priority Climate Action Plan,” which will make the state and local governments eligible to compete for a share of $4.6 billion in implementation funds next year. The EPA anticipates making grants of anywhere from $200 to $500 million to implement emission reduction priorities involving heavy industry, transportation and buildings. The grant program is looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as other co-pollutants through reducing combustion, fuel switching to low- and no-carbon alternatives like hydrogen, and potentially carbon capture. And electrification of industrial components.

Where do homeowners, the general public, fit in to these plans?

We’re looking to expand funding of building retrofits, focusing on home energy efficiency. Small grants or financial assistance to help in sealing leaks around windows, underneath doors, other things to make sure you’re not letting in outside air you don’t want, either hot air in the summer or cold air in the winters.

Some of these are relatively straightforward, like helping with adding insulation or installing new windows. There are federal subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act, including money focused at low- and middle-income folks, for rooftop solar, switching to more energy efficient heat pumps. The initial upfront costs are now holding back individuals from investing in those improvements. If there’s an opportunity for these programs to ease that burden, that will be a tremendous benefit for the quality of life for folks in Louisiana.