Solar Tariffs Less of a Threat Than First Predicted
After President Trump approved the solar panel tariff earlier this year, prospects for the American solar industry were not the brightest. However, those predictions may prove to be false.
Having employed more than 250,000 Americans in 2017, the solar industry has seen tremendous growth in the last decade with a small decline in 2017. The solar panel tariff, while attempting to protect American solar panel manufacturers, put the larger part of the solar industry at risk. Manufacturing in Asia is simply cheaper than manufacturing in America, regardless of product or protections. With tariffs raising the price of solar panels imported from China to aid American solar panel manufacturers, solar panels became an option less people could afford. For solar installers, the shrinking pool of potential customers is not ideal. The tariffs created a sizable setback of 2018 solar installation projects.
However, the effect of the solar panel tariff may not be as extreme as some feared. China committed to renewable energy and remain committed; production of Chinese solar and wind energy has only increased. In fact, within the country, they have begun transitioning solar and wind from subsidies to auction, effectively proving that in a country dedicated to lessening its dependence on fossil fuels, renewables can be economically competitive without government interference.
Solidly focused on solar, China has already managed to lower production time and cost between the time the tariffs were put in place and today. The tariffs may be a short-term benefit to American solar panel manufacturers, but even with the tariffs, that benefit will not last. As China pulls subsidies from wind and solar, the Chinese solar panel market will become more competitive than it already is by increasing efficiency and decreasing cost.
The solar panel tariff temporarily wounded the American solar industry, but it was not a fatal blow. Solar energy technologies will consistently decrease is cost as time goes on and the solar industry will thrive because of it.
- Published in Policy, Solar Energy, Solar News
Environmental Injustice
In late 2017, the Clean Air Task Force and NAACP released results of a study that examined how oil and gas facilities affected air quality in African American predominant communities. There was overwhelming data to support that people in these areas are significantly more affected by airborne pollutants because of their proximity to oil refineries, power plants, hazardous waste facilities, and other major polluters.
Environmental injustices such as this typically do affect other minorities as well, such as women and those living in poverty. In addition, inequalities have a tendency of stacking as pollution can cause health issues that cannot be properly cared for due to lack of finances and healthcare.
In the US, pollution from the natural gas industry causes 750,000 childhood asthma attacks, 500,000 missed school days, 2,000 adult asthma related emergency room visits, and 600 hospital admittance’s. Every year, the oil industry creates over 9 million tons of methane and other chemicals. Minorities do make up the bulk of these numbers as they are typically in most direct contact with the pollutants. These statistics only reflect the harm caused by air pollution, the numbers rise even more when we factor in water and soil contamination.
Major social change is needed to fight these environmental injustices. If these topics are important to you, it is imperative that you take action. Speaking with your government representatives, standing up against new oil and gas facilities, and reducing your own pollution output are all simple steps that can make a big difference.
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- Published in Climate Change, Policy
Solar Trumps Coal Environmentally and Economically
In a competitive market, coal is more expensive than both solar and wind.
In 2001, Texas created a competitive electricity market in that the least expensive resources go on the grid first. At that time, wind supplied less than one percent of Texas’ energy. As of 2018, 20 percent of the market is wind power. With technology and increased production lowering the cost of renewables, there are less arguments, than ever before, for the steady destruction of mountainous landscapes created by America’s need for coal.
Due to the competitive market, Texas has retired coal-fired plants, replacing them with natural gas which is significantly less expensive. By the end of next year, wind is expected to generate more electricity for Texans than coal as more plants are retired. However, these retired plants are largely being replaced by more efficient and less expensive natural gas plants. While natural gas beats coal in an environmentally-friendly competition, it is still a fossil fuel.
Texas’ competitive electricity market creates a fairer fight between renewables and fossil fuels when compared to other state and federal energy policies. Still, fossil fuels have an advantage. The hidden costs related to fossil fuel use like the consequences of climate change, explosions during drilling, transportation, spills and leaks, or burning process, and the pollution of land surrounding gas wells, is not included in the price comparisons of natural gas and renewables.
However, there is still hope. As we continue to burn the finite source of natural gas, it will face the same, inevitable dilemma of oil and coal. The low hanging fruit will be harvested, and the remaining sources will be difficult, dangerous, and expensive to gather while the cost of renewable energy continues to plummet. Someday, the market will favor it.
Will the invisible hand of the free market move soon enough? Don’t wait to see. Ease America’s dependency on fossil fuels by making a personal change in your energy source. Contact SolFarm Solar Co to see what you can do to save the planet.
- Published in Climate Change, Policy, Solar Energy, Solar News, Solar Technology
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