Hi, what are you looking for?
Boosting Michigan’s Energy Future with Regional Transmission Upgrades
US Renewable Energy Has Its Ups & Down In First 6 Months Of 2022
University Of Minnesota & MIT Teams Win American Solar Challenge
Extending U.S. Investment Tax Credits Through 2050 Increases U.S. Solar Generation By 10%
MISO Lets Renewable Energy Genie Out Of Bottle With Biggest Ever Transmission Project
Boosting Michigan’s Energy Future with Regional Transmission Upgrades
US Renewable Energy Has Its Ups & Down In First 6 Months Of 2022
Extending U.S. Investment Tax Credits Through 2050 Increases U.S. Solar Generation By 10%
MISO Lets Renewable Energy Genie Out Of Bottle With Biggest Ever Transmission Project
Exploring Coexistence of Bats & Wind Turbines
Most Renewables Now Cheaper Than Cheapest Coal
Kenya Elections: Electric Mobility, Utility Scale Battery Storage, Energy Efficiency & Green Hydrogen Feature Prominently
More Electricity from Wind & Solar than Nuclear for 1st Time in USA
Funding Notice: Community Geothermal Heating & Cooling Design & Deployment
Geothermal: Tapping Into the Million-Year Energy Source Below Our Feet
LG Chem & General Motors Reach Agreement For Long-Term Supply Of Cathode Active Material To Support EV Growth
Should Tesla Invest In Indonesia’s Nickel Mines & Build A New Gigafactory There?
General Motors & Livent Enter Long-Term Lithium Hydroxide Supply Agreement
U.S. Solar & Storage Industry Praises Joe Biden’s Targeted Actions on Community Solar
BioLite AlpenGlow Lanterns & Solar Charger — CleanTechnica Review
Can Virtual Power Plants Provide Revenue for Householders?
ERCOT & Tesla: How Virtual Power Plants Can Help Texas Electricity Grid & Save Lives
Energy Security at the Edge of the Grid
Texan Tesla Powerwall Owners Can Help Change ERCOT’s Mind On VPPs
Gridspertise — Advanced Digital Solutions For A Smart, Resilient Grid
Greener Air Conditioning for a Warmer World
Sensata Technologies Develops New Joystick & Controls For Urban Air Mobility
Ecoflow Wave Portable Air Conditioner Initial Review
President Biden Enlists Heat Pumps For Climate Emergency Action
Renault & Phoenix Mobility Partnering To Convert Commercial Vehicles To Electric
The Senate EV Rebate Deal Has Several Problems, But It Can Be Fixed
More Electric Vehicles, No More Excuses For US Postal Service
The Tesla App — Informing Driving & Having Fun
XBus Camper Is EVerything The ID. Buzz Should Have Been — Quirky, Lovable, & Cheap! (Video)
LG Chem & General Motors Reach Agreement For Long-Term Supply Of Cathode Active Material To Support EV Growth
The Tesla App — Informing Driving & Having Fun
BioLite AlpenGlow Lanterns & Solar Charger — CleanTechnica Review
Ecoflow Wave Portable Air Conditioner Initial Review
CleanTechnica Tested: GoSun Chillest Review
CleanTechnica Tested: The EcoFlow Delta Max & 400 Watt Folding Solar Panel System
13% Of New Car Sales In Europe Electric (21% Plugins)
26% of New Car Sales in Germany Have a Plug, 14% Fully Electric
24% of New Car Sales Now Electric in the Netherlands!
Tesla Cumulative Vehicle Sales Hit Nearly 3 Million
25.5% of US Electricity Coming from Renewable Energy
The Tesla App — Informing Driving & Having Fun
BioLite AlpenGlow Lanterns & Solar Charger — CleanTechnica Review
Ecoflow Wave Portable Air Conditioner Initial Review
CleanTechnica Tested: GoSun Chillest Review
CleanTechnica Tested: The EcoFlow Delta Max & 400 Watt Folding Solar Panel System
Tesla Q4 Shareholder Conference Call — Watch & Listen Here
Volkswagen Group — In-Depth Conference Call Highlights Company’s Focus On Transition
Bill McKibben On Unions, Tesla, & Elon Musk — CleanTechnica Interview
How To Watch & Listen To Tesla Q3 Earnings Call — Most Useful Livestream
Tesla Sales & Future of Tesla Discussion with Ride the Lightning, Starman, & EVANNEX
Renewable energy installations fell to the lowest level in years in the US thanks to confusion about federal energy policies.
Renewable energy has had a bumpy ride in the US so far this year, thanks in large part to policy failures in government at the federal level. Most of us hate politics and politicians. Many would prefer unfettered economic competition to sort things out.
But in the real world, government policies play an enormous role in how business gets done. 40 years ago, everyone was moaning how Japan was taking over the world. The close collaboration between the government and industry resulted in what many derisively called Japan, Inc. Today, China is eating everyone’s lunch when it comes to electric cars, battery manufacturing, and solar panels because its government has aggressively promoted policies that favor them.
Renewable energy in the US has exploded in the past decade largely because of government incentives that reward those who invest in renewables like wind and solar with substantial tax savings. Yet just when things were going so well, American Clean Power reports renewable installations fell off a cliff in the first half of 2022. Why? Because of confusion and anxiety about federal policy support, due largely to the intransigence of alleged senator Joe Manchin, who time and time again torpedoed initiatives by the Biden administration to support clean energy policies.
Yeah, Greedy Joe is a hero now, after he found out he was being shunned by his colleagues and the folks back home in West By God Virginia who had a bellyful of Joe’s stonewalling antics. So Manchin has suddenly got religion, but in the meantime, his obstructionism was the primary reason for the fall-off in wind and solar installations so far this year. What business wants is predictability, not an on again, off again charade from some hillbilly who has gotten too big for his britches.
ACP reports, “Clean power installations slowed dramatically in the second quarter of the year, with 3,188 MW of new clean power capacity commissioned. This marks a 55% decline from the same period last year. The industry installed 41 solar projects, 14 storage projects, and five wind projects across 27 states. The accompanying graph makes clear how severe the impact of policy gridlock in Washington was.
Image credit: American Clean Power
“Congressional inaction and uncertainty on long-term tax policy, tariff and trade restrictions, and transmission constraints all impact the demand for clean energy at a time when we need to be rapidly scaling up development,” Heather Zichal, head of ACP, tells Reuters.
Onshore wind power installations fell 78% due to supply chain induced slow-downs and delays in power grid interconnections. Since the end of 2021, more than 32.4 gigawatts of clean power projects have been delayed, enough energy to power 6.5 million homes and support 110,000 jobs, the ACP report says.
One ray of sunshine in the gloomy renewable energy picture is grid scale energy storage, which saw a 4-fold increase in Q1 2022 from the first quarter of 2021, according to ACP. “Quarter one of 2022 was the largest first quarter on record by far for grid scale installations, a notable milestone since installations are typically back-weighted to the second half of the year. The West Coast and Southwest regions continue to dominate for both standalone and hybrid systems,” said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage team.
Despite significant growth, ACP says near-term risks remain for the grid scale market. Market disruption from the anti-dumping and countervailing duties solar tariff investigation initiated by the Department of Commerce in March lowered projections for hybrid projects significantly in 2022, and to a lesser extent in 2023, as procurement stalled.
“The Biden Administration’s recent decision to pause AD/CVD solar tariffs for two years restores predictability to both the solar and energy storage markets. With well over 50% of utility storage projects being paired with solar farms, this important executive action will help the energy storage market continue to accelerate,” said John Hensley, Vice President of Research and Analytics at ACP.
Residential storage also had its strongest quarter to date with 334 MWh installed in Q1, beating the previous quarterly record of 283 MWh in Q4 of last year. “Despite challenging supply conditions continuing to suppress residential storage, the segment saw over 20,000 installations in a single quarter for the first time and we’re seeing large and small installers forge new vendor partnerships to help meet rising customer demand,” said Chloe Holden, analyst with Wood Mackenzie. Overall, the US energy storage market added 955 MW and 2,875 MWh across all segments in the first quarter of 2022.
Policies and politics matter. The US has lost critical momentum towards its renewable energy goals because of a lack of clear policies, thanks in large part to the mulish obstinance of one person. Now the logjam has been broken — or so it seems. It’s time to get back to the business of making renewable energy that provides emissions free electricity to all American homes and businesses a reality. If America aspires to be a leading nation, clean energy will be the key that makes that possible.
Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his homes in Florida and Connecticut or anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. You can follow him on Twitter but not on any social media platforms run by evil overlords like Facebook.
#1 most loved electric vehicle, solar energy, and battery news & analysis site in the world. Support our work today!
Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.
Copyright © 2021 CleanTechnica. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.