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RICHFIELD, Minn. (AP) — Travelers in northwestern Minnesota can shake off their trepidation about hitting the winter roads knowing Taylor Drift is clearing a path ahead of them. The snowplow named for Taylor Swift was the runaway winner of Minnesota’s fourth annual Name a Snowplow contest, with eight new names announced Tuesday. Walz thanked the state’s snowplow drivers for braving dangerous conditions, working 12-hour shifts and clearing 200 miles (322 kilometers) or more at a time. The Name a Snowplow contest is a way to personalize both the massive trucks and the people who drive them. Previous winners over the years in Minnesota include Plowy McPlowFace, Darth Blader, Blizzard of Oz, Scoop Dogg and Han Snolo.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Taylor, Clark W, Dolly Plowton, Waipahinte, “, Tim Walz, ”, Walz, Anne Meyer, ” Meyer, Meyer, snowplows, Plowy, Darth Blader, Dogg, Han, ___ Trisha Ahmed, @TrishaAhmed15 Organizations: —, Twin Cities, Minnesota Department of Transportation, state's Department of Transportation, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: RICHFIELD, Minn, Minnesota, Waipahinte —, Twin, Alaska , California , Ohio, Massachusetts

☆ California may build solar panels alongside highways to power homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gavin Newsom on Saturday gave the greenlight for the state's transportation and energy officials to figure out how to install solar panels, battery storage and other renewable energy sites along highways. According to the state's Department of Transportation, California has 250 state highways containing more than 15,000 miles of road. The empty land alongside those roads could be used to generate one gigawatt of potential solar energy, which could power over 270,000 California homes, according to a joint report from Environment California, a nonprofit backer of SB 49, and highway solar advocate The Ray. In 2008, Oregon became the first state to develop a solar highway project, which now has nearly 600 solar panels. Using empty space along highways to install clean energy sites would help alleviate pressure on the state's deserts where many solar panels are currently housed.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Ray, Sen, Josh Becker Organizations: Port, Los Angeles , California ., Los Angeles , California . California Gov, Saturday, Department of Transportation, state's Department of Transportation Locations: Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, Los Angeles , California, Los Angeles , California . California, state's Department of Transportation , California, California, Environment California, Oregon

☆ Nikola will soon find out whether its shareholders have approved its plan to sell more stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Electric heavy-truck maker Nikola will find out later Thursday whether its shareholders have approved its plan to raise money by selling more stock. Nikola first put the plan to its shareholders at its annual meeting in June. While 77% of those who voted were in favor, there weren't enough total shares voted to pass the proposal. This isn't the first time that Nikola has had to adjourn a shareholder meeting to drum up more votes for a proposal to sell new stock. Last year's annual meeting was adjourned three times before Nikola won enough votes to raise its total shares outstanding to 800 million from 600 million.

Persons: Nikola, adjourn Organizations: California Transportation Locations: Delaware, California

☆ Washington state plans to mandate Tesla's charging plug -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Washington state plans to require electric vehicle charging companies to include Tesla's plug if they want to be part of a state program to electrify highways using federal dollars, an official told Reuters on Thursday. Washington follows the move by Texas to mandate Tesla's technology, The North American Charging Standard (NACS), adding momentum to CEO Elon Musk's hope of making it the national charging technology. GM (GM.N), Ford (F.N) and Rivan (RIVN.O) have said they would embrace Tesla's NACS, shunning efforts by the Biden administration to make the Combined Charging System (CCS) the dominant charging standard in the United States. Buell said state officials are still trying to determine the right mix of NACS chargers based on current federal requirements. The plan by Washington may add pressure on other states and the federal government to adopt Tesla's NACS.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Tesla's, Biden, I’m, Tonia Buell, Kris Rietmann Abrudan, Buell, Jarrett Renshaw, Hyunjoo Jin, Peter Henderson, Daniel Wallis, Jamie Freed Organizations: Reuters, GM, Ford, Washington state's Department of Transportation, Washington State Department of Transportation, Thomson Locations: Washington, . Washington, Texas, United States

☆ Billions in federal infrastructure spending could be wasted due to outdated government rainfall models
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The government's precipitation expectation model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is called Atlas 14. "It leverages the best available historical precipitation data that was available the time that the study was performed." It is not the only state using Atlas 14 to inform its infrastructure projects. "I can't speak to how some of those engineering decisions are made," Salas said when asked if Atlas 14 should still be used. There are multiple climate risk modeling firms with vast precipitation forecasting data, but most charge for it, and states already have the Atlas 14 data.

Persons: it's, Matthew Eby, Fernando Salas, Salas, Eby, Stephen Schapiro, " Salas Organizations: Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, First Street Foundation, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Geo - Intelligence Division, National Weather Service, ., Infrastructure, state's Department of Transportation, New, New Jersey Department of Transportation, NJ Department of Environmental Locations: United States, Upper Midwest, New Jersey

☆ Exclusive: Washington state plans to mandate Tesla's charging plug
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Washington state plans to require electric vehicle charging companies to include Tesla's plug if they want to be part of a state program to electrify highways using federal dollars, an official told Reuters on Thursday. Washington follows the move by Texas to mandate Tesla's technology, The North American Charging Standard (NACS), adding momentum to CEO Elon Musk's hope of making it the national charging technology. GM (GM.N), Ford (F.N) and Rivan (RIVN.O) have said they would embrace Tesla's NACS, shunning efforts by the Biden administration to make the Combined Charging System (CCS) the dominant charging standard in the United States. We want to provide access to as many makes and models as possible," said Tonia Buell, alternative fuels program manager at Washington state's Department of Transportation. The plan by Washington may add pressure on other states and the federal government to adopt Tesla's NACS.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Tesla's, Biden, I’m, Tonia Buell, Buell, Jarrett Renshaw, Hyunjoo Jin, Peter Henderson, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Reuters, GM, Ford, Washington state's Department of Transportation, Thomson Locations: Washington, . Washington, Texas, United States

The biggest makers and network operators of EV charging stations include Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), ChargePoint Holdings Inc (CHPT.N), EVgo Inc (EVGO.O) and Electrify America. In Arizona, the state's Department of Transportation is leading efforts to build charging stations, and expects $76.5 million in federal charging funds over the next five years. The first, $1.25 billion round of the Biden buildout is focused squarely on the highway fast chargers, with later rounds including slower chargers for overnight charging, for instance. Its South Korean charger manufacturer, SK Signet Inc (260870.KN), is planning to open a Texas factory to produce up to 10,000 direct-current fast chargers annually by 2026. Shares of EVgo jumped nearly 10% on Feb. 15, when the U.S. government announced the new rules for chargers.

☆ California picks up debris from latest storm, braces for the next
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At least two more storm systems were set to pound California and the Pacific Northwest starting Friday and over the weekend, the National Weather Service said, including another atmospheric river, systems of dense moisture funneled into California from the tropical Pacific. The state has already been hit with seven such weather systems over the past two weeks. In Monterey County, water from prior storms continued to swell the Salinas River, officials said. The heavy rains have eased California's historic drought but not ended it, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed on Thursday. Even with more atmospheric rivers in the immediate forecast, the state's water system will remained strained in coming years without new infrastructure to capture more storm water, restore flood plains and recycle wastewater.

☆ California is deluged by record rain with more storms coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kate Fishman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The parade of storms is forecast to continue, bringing even more heavy rain next week, the weather service said. Large stretches of central California received over half their normal annual rainfall since Dec. 26. [1/12] View of flooding from the rainstorm-swollen Sacramento and American Rivers, near downtown Sacramento, California, U.S. January 11, 2023. The storms have killed at least 17 people since the start of the year, California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A historic lake effect snow event will blanket swathes of the country in white into the weekend, with up to five feet of snow possible in Buffalo, New York. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for 11 counties Thursday, saying the state and Buffalo area are "prepared" for the brunt of the major "life-threatening" storm. Lake effect snow occurs when arctic air races across the relatively milder water of the Great Lakes every fall. Rather by the late 21st century it is forecast that there will be a shortened lake effect snow season, and rather than peaking in fall and early winter, it'll be pushed back later to January through March. The lake effect snow will continue for areas downwind of the lakes into Sunday.

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