Tom Nolan + 2,443 TN May 10, 2022 U.S. wind and solar energy hit a key benchmark last month: Report Ben Adler ·Senior Editor Tue, May 10, 2022, 1:17 PM·3 min read https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-wind-and-solar-energy-hit-a-key-benchmark-last-month-report-181750400.html The United States electricity sector reached an important milestone in April, when wind and solar energy accounted for 20% of electricity generation for the first time in history, according to the London-based global energy think tank Ember. The 20% figure is noteworthy because the International Energy Agency calculates that to avert catastrophic climate change, wind and solar energy need to reach one-fifth of global energy production by 2025. U.S. wind and solar energy production typically reaches its highest annual output in April. Spring is the windiest time of year on average, and the sun shines strongest in the spring and summer. Last April, wind and solar accounted for 17% of U.S. electricity, which was the all-time high until last month. U.S. wind and solar energy have grown dramatically in recent years, primarily due to dropping costs. For 2021 as a whole, wind and solar created 14% of U.S. electricity, up from just 6% in 2015. Solar energy dips in months with less sunshine, and its production is less efficient in warmer weather. Wind and solar also decrease as a percentage of the total in the summer months, because higher demand for air conditioning leads to more use of coal- and gas-fired “peaker” power plants. America is not alone in experiencing its wind and solar boom. In 2021, wind and solar were the fastest-growing sources of energy worldwide for the 17th year in a row, according to Ember. Globally, wind and solar doubled their share of electricity production to 10% between 2015 and 2021. The Biden administration is enthusiastically promoting wind and solar energy production as part of its agenda to combat climate change. The Department of the Interior is leasing offshore wind turbines, and the president’s Build Back Better legislative agenda includes billions of dollars in subsidies for solar panel production and purchases. There are, however, potential impediments on the horizon. Much of the recent wind energy boom has occurred on the windy plains of the Midwest, where local governments worried about loss of farmland are beginning to restrict local renewable energy development. President Biden’s energy agenda is stuck in the Senate, where opposition from Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has stymied its passage. The solar industry is being pinched by tariffs on imported solar technology imposed by then-President Donald Trump, which Biden has declined to rescind. The Solar Energy Industries Association cut its forecasts of new solar installation for 2022 and 2023 by 46% as a result. Still, renewables are growing and will continue to do so; the only question is by how much. On March 29, wind was the second-largest source of electricity in the U.S. in a 24-hour period for the first time. And on April 3, California set a record when its power grid briefly ran on 97% renewable energy. “Wind and solar are breaking records around the world,” Ember COO Phil MacDonald said in a statement. “The process that will reshape the existing energy system has begun. Wind and solar provide a solution to the ‘trilemma’ of achieving a sustainable, affordable and secure energy supply. This decade they need to be deployed at lightning speed.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [ARTICLE leads and closes with mainstream narrative CLIMATE CHANGE warnings with LINKS and LINKS, such as "Global temperatures are on the rise and have been for decades. Step inside the data and see the magnitude of climate change." <--(A 3-D Presentation) Alternative narrative presentations are absent.] 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Nolan + 2,443 TN May 10, 2022 https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Solar-Energy/Is-This-The-Most-Disruptive-Event-Ever-For-US-Solar.html Is This The Most Disruptive Event Ever For U.S. Solar? By Rystad Energy - May 10, 2022, 4:00 PM CDT DOC investigation into panel imports from southeast Asia could put planned US solar capacity installations at risk. The investigation comes as domestic US solar companies are concerned about the rise of Chinese manufacturers. Imports from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia accounted for 85% of all solar panel capacity brought into the US in 2021. Join Our Community As much as 17.5 gigawatts (GWac) of planned US solar capacity installations in 2022 are in doubt after the Department of Commerce (DOC) opened an investigation into panel imports from southeast Asia, Rystad Energy research shows. The US was expected to install 27 GWac of solar energy capacity in the utility, residential, and commercial and industrial (C&I) markets this year, but with rising commodity prices and this new threat of tariffs on vital imports, 64% of those additions are now in jeopardy. The recent launch of an Antidumping and Countervailing (ADCV) investigation by the DOC has US suppliers worried about potential penalties on panel imports, which would likely be backdated. In response, Chinese panel manufacturers are halting shipments to the US until the results of the investigation and any retroactive action by the DOC is revealed. A preliminary judgment is scheduled for August, with a final decision due by January 2023. The investigation comes as domestic US solar companies are concerned about the rise of Chinese manufacturers using cheap raw materials and shifting cell and panel assembly to southeast Asia to circumvent an existing ban on Chinese imports. With imports frozen while the investigation is pending, annual capacity additions could plummet from 22.6 GWac in 2021 to 10.07 GWac this year, the lowest annual total since 2019. The DOC is investigating imports from four Southeast Asian countries that play a pivotal role in the US market – Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Imports from these countries accounted for 85% of all solar panel capacity brought into the US in 2021, totaling 21.8 GWac. In January and February of 2022, their total share of imports was 99%. Related: What Thomas Edison Can Teach Us About Our Electricity Crisis “In an attempt to limit cheap Chinese solar panels entering the market from Southeast Asia, and with one eye on the goal of shoring up a domestic supply chain, the US has seriously dented its solar capacity forecast for 2022 and beyond. This could be the most disruptive event ever to face the US solar industry,” says Marcelo Ortega, renewables analyst with Rystad Energy. How the freeze happened On 25 March 2022, the US DOC decided to investigate a petition by domestic PV manufacturer Auxin Solar concerning composite silicon (cSi) solar PV panels sourced from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Auxin claimed that Chinese panel manufacturers circumvent ADCV rules by offshoring cell and panel assembly processes to the four countries while still using cheap Chinese raw materials. In a 2012 investigation into Chinese manufacturers, ADCV tariffs were eventually applied at different rates to different suppliers. The most common rate was 30.66%, but some rates fell as low as 24%, while other suppliers were slapped with a 250% tariff. If the DOC decides a tariff extension is warranted, equipment imported after the investigation announcement would be permitted, but tariffs could be backdated on imports as far back as November last year. Between November 2021 and February 2022, US buyers imported $1.46 billion of solar panels from the four southeast Asian countries under investigation, meaning Chinese suppliers could be collectively liable for anywhere between $365 million and $3.6 billion in additional tariffs. Chinese panel manufacturers are unwilling to risk such prohibitively high fines, and many have opted to entirely halt panel exports to the US. The probe is not limited to cSi PV panels but also includes PV cell imports. This is significant for the US domestic panel manufacturing industry as its 5 GW of capacity is mainly panel assembly and relies heavily on cell imports from overseas. Last year, 46% of imported cells came from the countries under investigation. US manufacturers are also feeling the effects of the investigation. Although the threat of sanctions may incentivize suppliers to build US PV manufacturing facilities, it would take at least 18 months to build a domestic supply chain from polysilicon to assembled panel. If investment decisions are made after August 2022, when preliminary results are to be announced, this capacity would be operational in January 2024 at the earliest. Antidumping probe adds more stress to US market Even before the probe, the US PV industry began 2022 in a tough spot. More than 7 GWac of solar PV was delayed last year by more than six months due to high commodity prices, federal tax credit uncertainty and unfavorable policies. This included the US government’s December 2021 decision to ban imports containing goods from China’s northwest region of Xinjiang due to reported human rights abuses committed against the Uyghur people. With 40% of the world’s silicon production based in Xinjiang, this policy effectively halved the number of panels that can be imported to the US, disrupting the already ropy supply chain. In theory, if panel manufacturers can prove they source silicon and components from outside of Xinjiang, their exports will be unaffected. However, before the ban, suppliers did not need to track the origin of their inputs, and any traceability system takes time to implement. In practice, the rules set out in the new bill are ambiguous and entail unknown risks for suppliers and financiers. Although the legislation enforces a ban on all Xinjiang goods, the US already has a partial ban on panels with silicon sourced from this region. In June 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) banned imports of solar panels containing silicon produced by four Xinjiang-based silicon producers. This resulted in CBP detaining imports until the polysilicon source could be proven. Chinese panel suppliers claim between 40 megawatts (MW) to 100 MW of panel capacity has been detained, though the exact level remains unknown. By Rystad Energy More Top Reads from Oilprice.com: China’s COVID Lockdowns Force Aramco To Slash Oil Export Prices Saudi Energy Minister: Insufficient Investment To Blame For High Fuel Prices China’s COVID Lockdowns Push Copper Prices Lower 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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