By Saijel Kishan, Bloomberg News

The vast tract of land off Route 85 was meant to be a symbol of Made-in-America manufacturing. A billion-dollar battery factory was going to rise, bringing thousands of new jobs. The business announced, “Get Ready Arizona,” the governor said the state was thrilled and even the U.S. president gave the project a shoutout.

But here, in the boomtown of Buckeye, less than an hour away from Phoenix, the 214-acre lot sits empty. Work on the site had started, said Shelby Lizarraga, who manages the gas station next door, “but then it went all quiet.”

Four years after the fanfare, battery maker Kore Power Inc. abandoned its plans for a plant in Buckeye. The company’s chief executive officer stepped down and a promised $850 million federal loan was cancelled.

Kore isn’t alone in its dashed ambitions. In Massachusetts, a wind turbine cable factory set to be built on the site of a former coal power plant was scrapped. In Georgia, the construction of a facility that would have made parts for electric vehicle batteries was suspended more than halfway through. And in Colorado, a lithium-ion battery maker said it wouldn’t go forward with its factory there, at least for now.

They’re among the dozens of planned green factories that have been cancelled, with more delayed or downsized, all hit by soaring costs, high interest rates and slow-growing EV demand. About 9% of the $261 billion in green factory investment announced since 2021 has been shelved — most of it since President Donald Trump returned to office in January — according to research firm Atlas Public Policy. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said his agency doesn’t plan to move forward with some of the big-dollar loans that had been made to green manufacturing plants during President Joe Biden’s term.

Now there’s another, major threat to the sector: Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package, which rolls back Biden’s generous green subsidies.

Signed into law by Trump on Friday, it phases out credits for producing solar and wind energy years before they were designed to expire. It also ends federal tax credits for electric vehicles this September instead of in 2032.

Under Biden, a Democratic Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act a year later, setting aside hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives for clean-energy projects. New factories were announced from South Carolina to Michigan to Arizona, set to churn out EVs, batteries and clean-energy parts. Biden and Democrats sought to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and make the country independent of, and competitive with, fast-electrifying China.

Many of the projects would be in red and purple states, shielding the policy against GOP attacks — or so the thinking went. That idea has now collapsed. (Among the members of Congress who voted for Trump’s bill was Paul Gosar, a Republican who represents Buckeye.)

Trump said at the signing that the country “is going to be a rocketship economically.” But fallout is likely to include more clean energy projects and the jobs they provide, or could have. Tesla Inc. Chief Elon Musk had lambasted the package on X as “severely damaging” to “industries of the future.”

The U.S. pulling back now means it will lag other countries that have invested in green technologies, and that will hurt economic growth and boost reliance on overseas manufacturers long term, said Hannah Hess of Rhodium Group, a research firm.

“There’s also the risk of stranded investments, a sizable amount,” she said.

Lithium-ion battery manufacturers like Kore face strict rules on using foreign components, plus knock-on effects from the solar and EV credit phaseouts. Because of the former, fewer grid batteries will be installed over the next decade, according to the research group Energy Innovation. The demise of the EV credit will likely dent consumer appetite for electric vehicles — and by extension, demand for the batteries they run on.

Buckeye — a former farming town named by settlers from Ohio — is a hotbed of building activity. Close to the Kore site is the suburban sprawl that’s come to characterize the Phoenix area’s rapid growth. Concrete is being poured in foundations and piles of rebar are stacked on construction sites, where tracts of desert are being transformed into new neighborhoods.

Executives at Kore had scoured 300 sites across the country before settling on Buckeye. Land was cheap, it was close to major West Coast ports and Arizona’s dry climate wouldn’t impair the chemistry of lithium-ion batteries. The company announced its factory in 2021, planning to start construction that year and roll out batteries in 2023. It would be Buckeye’s biggest employer, creating 3,000 jobs.

But as executives drew up construction plans, inflation hiked costs, while rising interest rates made financing more expensive. And the project got mired in the same slow permitting that stalls projects nationwide.

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Costs swelled to $1.25 billion from $1 billion, so the company made adjustments to control expenses — even downsizing the factory — and worked aggressively to keep the project alive, Kore’s current CEO Jay Bellows said in a telephone interview. “We were trying to move as fast as we could,” Bellows said. “But ultimately, the costs were just really high.” The battery maker later got a loan commitment from the Energy Department.

Kore ended up getting approvals to move forward with construction in 2024, almost a year after it had wanted to start producing batteries. And then uncertainty loomed over the fate of federal green incentives if Trump were to win the election.

In Buckeye’s city hall, about 10 minutes away from Kore’s site, Mayor Eric Orsborn sensed that things were amiss. The project’s timeline kept getting longer and delays dragged out. “Things slipped a little bit more, a little bit more,” he said in an interview in his office.

Kore then said it was ending its plans to build in Buckeye, 10 days after Trump was sworn in. It’s one of 53 out of 715 green factories announced since 2021 that have been cancelled, according to Atlas Public Policy.

The outlook for green enterprises has darkened as policy shifts unsettle manufacturers, with EV makers feeling it the most, said Matt Shanahan of Marathon Capital, an investment bank focused on the energy transition. “The rules have changed,” he said.

The pace of cancellations and delays depends on how the market reacts to the law, he added, but early-stage projects are especially at risk. “To break ground on a new facility — I think it’s very challenging right now.” Energy storage may remain more resilient thanks to surging data center demand, he said.

Kore is now on the hunt for an existing building to move into, with power and infrastructure in place so it can save money and get to market faster, Bellows said. Looking back, he said he learned the need to move more quickly and efficiently. The company tried, he said, but “it’s a long, arduous process” to go from dirt to a fully operating factory.

Even so, other green facilities in the region are forging ahead. In Queen Creek, another fast-growing community that’s about 80 miles to the west of Buckeye, construction is underway on a $3 billion EV battery facility by LG Energy Solution. Cranes tower over the sprawling site, while bulldozers kick up plumes of desert dust as forklifts scuttle by. The project has faced its own challenges — construction was paused for some time last year as the company scrapped plans for a bigger plant.

But now the factory is set to open next year, and LG plans to employ 1,500 workers there by 2027. The company said in an April press release that it aims to contribute to a “local battery ecosystem” and that it will hire locally.

“It’s a manufacturing powerhouse,” Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley said in an interview, adding that the town is seeing strong interest from companies looking to move near the plant.

On a Monday in late June, the empty Kore plot scorched in 100F-plus heat. Nearby, desert gave way to parcels of farmland, discount stores and palm-tree-lined neighborhoods. Dairy cows took shade from the heat, while trucks stacked with hay bales hurtled by.

Across the road, Joe Skoog, who runs a trucking company, said he would have liked to have pitched his business to Kore had the factory gone ahead. But he didn’t see the cancellation as much of a setback for the growing region. “Come back in five, 10 years’ time, and there will be more manufacturers and warehouses, and fewer farms,” he said.

Orsborn, Buckeye’s mayor, said he was disappointed, but not disheartened. He enthused about Buckeye’s population boom, fueled by Californian transplants, the big-box retailers and movie theaters opening up and how Kore’s shovel-ready site — with power, water and infrastructure now installed — is now even more attractive for other businesses that want to move in.

“Maybe another green energy one will,” he said.

©2025 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By DAN FRIO, Edmunds

Summer days beckon and with them the prospect of campfires, fishing holes and scenic hikes. When it’s time to commune with nature, you need a car that can get you there and offer convenience and utility once you’ve arrived. Whether you’re looking to get far off the beaten path or simply enjoy the outdoors with some comforts of home, we’ve rounded up five of the best vehicles for the occasion.

Ford F-150

This photo provided by Ford shows the F-150 pickup, which offers an in-bed power supply for household items. (Courtesy of Ford Motor Co. via AP)

Before SUVs, pickup trucks were the ultimate camp car. Put a shell over the cargo bed, lay out a foam roll and sleeping bag and voila — instant shelter. The Ford F-150 is not only America’s best-selling truck, but it also makes an ideal camper. Optional four-wheel drive helps get to remote sites, but the camp-friendly Pro Power Onboard is the star feature. It’s an integrated system that delivers power ranging from 2,000 to 7,200 watts to household-style outlets in the cab and bed. That’s enough to run portable speakers, electric grills and movie projectors, or even recharge electric dirt bikes. The all-electric F-150 Lightning generates even more power — up to 9,600 watts — and features 11 outlets. You’ll need the F-150’s optional hybrid V6 engine in XLT trim or higher to get Pro Power Onboard. We’ve found the fuel economy slightly disappointing in our own F-150 equipped with Pro Power Onboard, but have used the innovative system while camping to run the heat overnight and even power hedge trimmers for yard work.

2025 F-150 XLT with Pro Power Onboard starting price (including destination): around $59,320

Lexus GX

This photo provided by Lexus shows the GX 550, a luxurious SUV with serious off-road capabilities. (Courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. via AP)

If you prefer more luxury from your campmobile, the Lexus GX fits the bill with its rugged styling and a classy, leather-soaked interior. Based on a truck platform, the GX comes with standard four-wheel drive and low-range gearing, giving it excellent capability on dirt roads and trails. Hardcore off-roaders can opt for the Overtrail and Overtrail+ trims that add beefy tires and hardware for even better traction. An available third-row seat and ample cargo space mean more people or gear can join the ride. And despite its impressive backwoods ability, the GX is still a Lexus. It offers plenty of luxury features, including massaging front seats, perfect for relaxing after long hikes.

2025 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail: $73,830

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

This photo provided by Mercedes-Benz shows the Sprinter van, an exceptionally roomy and surprisingly capable camping choice. (Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA via AP)

More functional than an SUV but nimbler than an RV, the Sprinter is an infinitely customizable van with a high roof that lets you stand up inside. Campsite cooks will appreciate that utility when prepping meals, but the rest of the Sprinter’s big, boxy cargo space is just as useful. Hundreds of accessories from the factory or aftermarket companies transform the Sprinter’s big, boxy cargo space into the ultimate in-car camper with all manner of racks, beds, cabinets and storage. Two different lengths and 8-foot or 9-foot roof heights give the Sprinter exceptional versatility, along with a range of tire and suspension options. The Sprinter’s blank-canvas price doesn’t come cheap, starting slightly above $50K before any accessories. But its possibilities are endless.

2025 Sprinter Cargo Van: $53,125

Rivian R1T

This photo provided by Rivian shows the R1T pickup truck, an electric truck that has multiple off-road modes and impressive towing capability. (Courtesy of Rivian via AP)

Experienced campers can be forgiven for a skeptical eye to EVs. Most don’t have enough range for travel to and from distant campsites. With up to 420 miles of range, the R1T doesn’t have that problem. It’s capable of pulling an 11,000-pound trailer on your camp adventures, while standard all-wheel drive and advanced drive modes that expertly manage traction make easy work of tough trails. Like the Ford F-150, the R1T also offers integrated power distribution with four 120-volt outlets and six USB charging ports, meaning your rechargeable flashlights, headlamps and camp lanterns can always stay topped up. (The R1T even comes with its own flashlight.) Clever storage spaces such as a lockable front trunk and storage bin under the bed are perfect for securing things before leaving camp unattended.

2025 Rivian R1T: $71,700

Subaru Outback

This photo provided by Subaru shows the Outback Wilderness, a popular choice for camping enthusiasts. (Courtesy of Subaru of America via AP)

The Outback’s long, low-ish body harkens back to an old camp favorite: the station wagon. The Subaru splits the difference between wagon and SUV, though, with plenty of trail capability and more than 70 cubic feet of maximum cargo capacity. Camping pros will like the Wilderness trim for its rugged all-terrain tires, protective lower-body armor, water-repellent upholstery, and 9.5 inches of ground clearance that rivals most Jeeps. Standard roof rails, a low roof height and a 700-pound weight limit make it easy to pile gear on top of the Wilderness, and a hands-free liftgate allows easy access once at camp. A front-view camera is also useful for careful approaches to unfamiliar trails and campsites.

2025 Outback Wilderness: $43,130

Edmunds says

Today’s best cars for camping offer a range of capability, utility and even luxury. Whether you prefer trucks, SUVs or vans, there’s something for every camper.

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Dan Frio is a contributor at Edmunds.

FRANK BURES: Minnesotan discusses “Pushing the River,” his collection of real-life stories about joys and dangers of canoeing, part of Minnesota History Center’s North Star Voices series. Free. 2 p.m. Saturday, Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul.

TASHA CORYELL: Hosts the launch of her new thriller “Matchmaking for Psychopaths,” in which matchmaker Lexie discovers at her 30th birthday party that her best friend and her fiance are in love. Then Lexie gets involved with two of her clients, both of whom are psychopaths. When Lexie starts receiving strange and bloody packages, she has to figure out who is trying to orchestrate her downfall and whether this is relevant to her estranged parents and their criminal history. In conversation with award-winning author Kathleen West. Coryell, who lives in St. Paul, is the author of “Love Letters to a Serial Killer,” which got rave reviews. Free. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls

What else is going on

It isn’t too early to mark your calendars for Oct. 12, when Rick Atkinson, Jade Chang, Jason Mott and Nita Prose will be guest readers at Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s annual Opus & Olives benefit dinner at St. Paul RiverCentre.

Prize-winning historian Atkinson is author of “The Fate of The Day,” which covers the middle years of the American Revolution. Chang’s debut novel, “What a Time to Be Alive,” is about a broke, unemployed woman in California who becomes a self-help guru. In Mott’s novel “People Like Us,” two Black writers try to find peace in a world riven by gun violence. Prose, bestselling author of “The Maid,” introduces “The Maid’s Secret,” in which Molly Gray, special-events manager at a hotel, discovers during a TV appraisal show that she has a priceless treasure that vanishes from the hotel in a sensational heist. Look for more about these authors and their books closer to the event. You can find ticket information at thefriends.org/opus.

What’s a Silent Book Club? It’s the newest expansion of Next Chapter Booksellers’ monthly book club offerings. “Unlike our other clubs, this one will not be structured around a shared read or conversation,” the  store announced online. “Every second Thursday of the month, from 5 to 6 p.m., we’ll be staying open late, putting on soft music, and inviting (everyone) to read with us in the bookstore. Each meeting will end with the chance for attendees to share a little about what they’re reading with the group and browse the shelves.” Space is limited so readers are advised to bring their own cushions, beanbags, blankets. The store is at 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul, where the next Silent Book Club meeting will be Aug.14.

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There are few things most American politicians seem to agree upon, but banning mobile phones in classrooms seems to be one of them. Based on the experiences of some schools that have required students to prioritize learning over TikTok scrolling, there’s also a welcome side benefit: less conflict and more “hellos.”

When school starts this fall, students in most U.S. states and D.C. will be required by law to turn over or turn off their smartphones during all or most of the school day, according to an Education Week tally.

Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Utah have statewide bans. Another 24 states have adopted rules or laws that require restrictions on mobile phones but leave it up to school districts to decide whether to ban them or not. Two states offer districts incentives to restrict phones. Another seven recommend local districts enact their own restrictions.

The methods and policy details vary widely between states, but the reasons for silencing phones are pretty universal. A growing body of research has found that the more time children and their developing brains spend on smartphones, the greater the risk of negative mental health outcomes — from depression, to cyberbullying, to an inability to focus and learn.

Social media is intentionally designed “to expose users to an endless stream of content” which makes it addictive, said Carol Vidal, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. That’s especially risky for children and teens, she said, “because their brains are still developing, and they have less control over their impulses.”

The laws are spurred in part by the research discussed in the 2024 book by Jonathan Haidt, “The Anxious Generation.” The New York University professor elevated this theory after reviewing dozens of recent studies linking social media and smartphone use by kids and teens to the explosive increase in rates of anxiety among young people, including emergency room visits for self-harm.

The idea of severing the phone from the classroom not only has legislators and governors in red and blue states giving it near-unanimous support, a 2024 survey by Pew Research found that 68% of US adults support a ban on smartphone use among middle- and high-school students during class.

But a ban in theory is not the same as putting it into practice, especially for the large numbers of parents worried about being unable to contact their kids during the school day.

That’s something Principal Inge Esping noticed when she barred phones from classrooms at McPherson Middle School in Kansas, an hour north of Wichita. In 2022, when Esping started as the school’s principal, she noticed that the spike in online bullying among students was happening during the school day.

“Middle schoolers are a little notorious for when they’re trying to make fun of someone,” she told me. “They’ll take a picture of the person that they’re making fun of and share that via social media — especially during lunchtime.’’

Absences and suspensions were rising, with too many students staying home either because they feared confronting their bullies or because they were bullying others. She and her staff decided to impose a rule in the 2022–23 school year requiring students to turn off their phones and store them in their lockers from the first bell to the last.

With few exceptions, children who had grown up with mobile phones “simply accepted it,” Esping said. It was their parents who protested.

“I don’t think we really realized how much parents were reaching out to their students during the school day,” Esping recalled. Many parents feared being unable to communicate with their children during school hours, particularly in an era of school shootings. Others didn’t trust the school to notify them when their child needed them, she said.

She and her colleagues then embarked on an ambitious plan to persuade parents of the value of keeping phones out of reach during school hours. She organized back-to-school events to increase communication, engaged more parents in volunteer and visiting opportunities, and refined the school’s alert system that notifies families when there’s an emergency.

As parents grew to accept the new system, the results for their children were dramatic. In the first year, the school saw a 5% increase in their state assessment scores in both reading and math. School suspensions dropped 70% by Christmas and have remained at half the rate they were before the ban. And absenteeism went down from 39% to 11% — because taking phones away prevented many of the harmful social media comments that kept bullied kids from coming to school.

Other school districts with mobile phone restrictions reported similar results in student discipline. A year after the Orange County School District in Florida implemented its phone ban in 2023, fighting went down 31% and “serious misconduct” issues decreased by 21%, Superintendent Maria Vazquez told Florida lawmakers in January.

Results like that are, in part, what have spurred elected officials to act.

“Arkansas’ phone-free schools’ program isn’t about taking anything away,” declared Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders when she signed Arkansas’ mobile phone ban earlier this year. “It’s about giving kids the freedom to learn without distractions.”

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The idea is getting some traction in Washington, too. One of the final acts of the Biden administration’s Department of Education was to issue a recommendation that all states and districts adopt measures to manage smartphone use in schools.

In February, Sens. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, and Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, introduced legislation to study the effects of mobile phone use in schools. Recently, Democratic Sen. Elise Slotkin of Michigan called for a ban on “social media and cell phones in every K-12 classroom in America.” She blamed technology for interfering in “problem-solving skills that will be valuable in the future economy.”

But for teachers, the most tangible difference has been the “huge vibe change,” said Esping, who was named Kansas Middle School Principal of the Year in April. Teachers reported that students were now more engaged — in the classroom and school corridors.

“The year before the phone ban, you’d say ‘hello’ to a student and they would ignore you and move on because they’re so tied to their cell phone,” Esping told me. But after the ban, “kids were looking up and talking to one another,” especially in the lunchroom and as students transitioned between classes. “When you’d say, ‘good morning’ to them, they’d say ‘good morning’ back.”

As always, students may be teaching the rest of the nation something here. Maybe more smartphone bans are exactly what we need.

Mary Ellen Klas is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former capital bureau chief for the Miami Herald, she has covered politics and government for more than three decades.