Maybe the ESG/wind turbine fad had more staying power than we thought?
My prior is that all these climate/green efforts -- including, especially, wind energy and solar parks -- were just low interest-rate phenomena from the 2010s: fueled by green nonsensed, powered by tax credits and cheap money. #1530719 #1354641
Apparently not! (only...)
Donald Trump is presiding over an unexpected clean energy boom, as rising electricity demand spurs investment in new capacity despite the US administration’s efforts to thwart a solar and wind rollout. Clean energy additions will rise by a record 45 gigawatts this year, according to S&P Global Energy — equivalent to the average electricity demand of Turkey. The increase is roughly 25 per cent higher than the previous record set in 2024.
Didn't see that coming. Still some lingering tax credits, I understand?
The US president’s war in Iran, which has driven up global energy prices, along with surging power demand from AI data centres and developers’ rush to capitalise on expiring tax credits, are driving the cleantech boom, said analysts. Trump’s administration has also been pragmatic in the face of its energy needs.
"S&P said new solar and wind capacity will jump in 2026 by nearly a third and almost 50 per cent respectively."
The president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also slashed tax credits for solar and wind, and his administration has interfered with routine project approvals, including for more than 150 onshore wind projects. But under the terms of the OBBBA, solar and wind developers had until July 4 to begin work on projects and until 2030 to finish them. The deadline “prompted developers to hurry and begin construction”, said S&P Global renewables analyst John Murray.
It is funny how tax regimes/new admin vs old admin showering their special interests with benefits prompt all these activities in the real economy. It's almost as if it were better if no administration did these things and you let the industries develop on their own/own merit...
Producers can break even by selling solar and wind power for as little as $38 and $37 per megawatt hour respectively, compared to at least $48 per megawatt hour for gas, according to investment bank Lazard. However, these figures do not fully account for system upgrade costs and batteries to smooth out intermittency.
Shocking. #1490834
“People in Florida are installing a lot of home batteries to ensure their house still has power in a hurricane,” said Hannah Hess, a director with Rhodium’s energy and climate practice. “And with the Iran war driving higher fuel prices, we’re seeing more EV and hybrid [vehicle] purchasing.”
"US courts have slowed Trump’s war on green energy. A district court judge in Oregon recently ordered the Pentagon to cease blocking onshore wind development."
what, American institutions are working to uphold rule of law and reasonable governance?!
Not sure how that follows from what you quote and write before.
I'm probably missing some part of your logic, but the way I understand it is that tax breaks did contribute in kickstarting the whole renewables economy. We just now got to a point where it all became profitable, and the free market can take over and render subsidies obsolete. Without this early frenzy (China notably benefited a lot from producing solar panels cheaply and at scale, when Europe was subsidizing them, no?), I don't see what supports the quote above.
Ok, understood, I think.
It's more a critique on doing this inefficiently through gov intervention, than a critique on the actual end result.
Thanks both.
What I took him to be reacting to is how these projects are being rushed onto faster schedules because of changes to the regulatory situation.
That's real present resource consumption that is only happening because of fickle administrative priorities.
Yes, that
I mean that changing the fiscal/tax rules of the game to jumpstart and then headwind and then rush to beat deadline for credits is a pretty bad way of "running" an industry