Jewish Earth Alliance Network Briefing with Nancy LaPlaca: June 18, 2024

A Brighter Future for Clean Electricity: Thanks to New Regulations

Nationwide, energy companies have proposed more than 11,000 wind, solar and battery projects, but many are in limbo because there’s not enough capacity on the electric grid to accommodate them. But recently, federal regulators approved sweeping changes to how America’s electric grids are planned and funded, in a move that supporters hope could spur thousands of miles of new high-voltage power lines and make it easier to add more wind and solar energy. Speaker Nancy LaPlaca, J.D., Energy and Climate Policy Consultant for Third Act’s Power Up Communities Campaign, explained how the new regulations can boost the supply of clean electricity. Nancy has served as Policy Advisor to an elected Public Utilities Commissioner (Arizona, 2009-13), and was a public interest intervener at state-level public utilities commissions in AZ, CO and NC.

"Our job in this life is, and has always been, to recognize our kinship with the world, to connect with those [soul] sparks as partners, and together with them serve God. When we do that, we, and the world, feel deep, true joy." These are the wise words of Rabbi Natan Margalit, Ph.D., who opened our briefing. Natan is the chair of the Rabbinic Texts Department at the Aleph Ordination Program (AOP), Director of the Earth-Based Judaism track of the AOP, and the founder of the non-profit Organic Torah. He is author of The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking.