Diogenes
1 account to rule them all
Now that the election is over and Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States, the speculation can begin on what his presidency means for the renewable energy industry in general and the solar industry in particular.
We’ve all watched the changes at the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy over the past four years with ever-increasing dismay.
Under the Trump Administration, regulations on greenhouse gases have been dismantled, and regulations on fossil-fuel energy production have been rolled back.
During the campaign, President-elect Biden spent lots of time talking about the threat posed by climate change and his intent to leave the Earth in a better position to defend itself against climate-change deniers and the destruction of its environment.
To that end, I believe he will appoint an EPA administrator (CNN reports that it could be Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a fierce environmental champion and renewable energy supporter) and a Secretary of Energy whose goals will be to undo the worst of the damage done by the previous administration.
As a result, renewable energy—and specifically the solar industry—will once again take their rightful places at the center of the discussion of energy production in this country.
They won’t need to fix it all without the legislative branch’s support, of course.
They can reset the regulatory environment to level the playing field and give solar and other renewables a chance to compete on their own merits without the fossil fuel industry putting its thumb on the scales against them.
For years, the fossil-fuel industries have insisted that renewable energy industries be forced to compete on a level playing field.
President-elect Biden has pledged to eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies, finally giving solar and other renewable energy sources an opportunity to challenge the hegemony of the oil, gas and coal industries.
Renewable energy advocates have argued for years (with strong evidence to back it up) that in a truly free market, renewable energy sources are not only competitive with fossil fuels but beat them on price.
One of the Trump Administration’s most frustrating decisions was to impose additional tariffs on solar modules and inverters that the industry imports from China.
The price for high-efficiency PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) modules in the United States is nearly double the price the rest of the world pays for such modules as they leave factories in China.
In multi-megawatt quantities, such modules are now 32 cents to 35 cents per watt in the United States while they are only 17 to 19 cents per watt when manufactured. With shipping costs of 1.5 cents to 2 cents per watt, the overwhelming portion of this price differential is the tariffs.
One of the first things President-elect Biden will do is order the International Trade Commission to evaluate these tariffs and decide if they are still appropriate, given the damage they have done to the downstream solar industry in this country.
Reducing or eliminating the tariffs on solar modules and inverters will have tremendous positive effects on solar development.
Direct investments would help create well-paying union jobs in industries like solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources.
They would also encourage companies to invest in their employees and regain some of the job losses that came under the destructive policies of the past four years.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/11...ons-to-expect-from-president-elect-joe-biden/
We’ve all watched the changes at the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy over the past four years with ever-increasing dismay.
Under the Trump Administration, regulations on greenhouse gases have been dismantled, and regulations on fossil-fuel energy production have been rolled back.
During the campaign, President-elect Biden spent lots of time talking about the threat posed by climate change and his intent to leave the Earth in a better position to defend itself against climate-change deniers and the destruction of its environment.
To that end, I believe he will appoint an EPA administrator (CNN reports that it could be Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a fierce environmental champion and renewable energy supporter) and a Secretary of Energy whose goals will be to undo the worst of the damage done by the previous administration.
As a result, renewable energy—and specifically the solar industry—will once again take their rightful places at the center of the discussion of energy production in this country.
They won’t need to fix it all without the legislative branch’s support, of course.
They can reset the regulatory environment to level the playing field and give solar and other renewables a chance to compete on their own merits without the fossil fuel industry putting its thumb on the scales against them.
For years, the fossil-fuel industries have insisted that renewable energy industries be forced to compete on a level playing field.
President-elect Biden has pledged to eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies, finally giving solar and other renewable energy sources an opportunity to challenge the hegemony of the oil, gas and coal industries.
Renewable energy advocates have argued for years (with strong evidence to back it up) that in a truly free market, renewable energy sources are not only competitive with fossil fuels but beat them on price.
One of the Trump Administration’s most frustrating decisions was to impose additional tariffs on solar modules and inverters that the industry imports from China.
The price for high-efficiency PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) modules in the United States is nearly double the price the rest of the world pays for such modules as they leave factories in China.
In multi-megawatt quantities, such modules are now 32 cents to 35 cents per watt in the United States while they are only 17 to 19 cents per watt when manufactured. With shipping costs of 1.5 cents to 2 cents per watt, the overwhelming portion of this price differential is the tariffs.
One of the first things President-elect Biden will do is order the International Trade Commission to evaluate these tariffs and decide if they are still appropriate, given the damage they have done to the downstream solar industry in this country.
Reducing or eliminating the tariffs on solar modules and inverters will have tremendous positive effects on solar development.
Direct investments would help create well-paying union jobs in industries like solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources.
They would also encourage companies to invest in their employees and regain some of the job losses that came under the destructive policies of the past four years.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/11...ons-to-expect-from-president-elect-joe-biden/
