
Trump's Policy Bill Could Put the U.S. Further Behind China
The Senate's vote represents a failure of Democrats' attempts to give the law staying power, even as the law directed billions to Republican-led districts. Read more.
In an article we published yesterday, Somini Sengupta, Brad Plumer, Keith Bradsher and I took a deep dive into the stunning divergence between the U.S. and China's energy strategies.
Put simply, China has taken an enormous lead in clean energy and is extending that lead by the month. In May, for example, solar panels in China generated as much energy as one-third of all American power generation, combined.
The U.S., meanwhile, under President Trump's 'energy dominance' agenda, is turning its back on renewables and doubling down on fossil fuels like gas, oil and coal.
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13 minutes ago
Republican budget bill dismantles climate law passed by Democrats
WASHINGTON -- The sprawling Republican budget bill approved by the Senate Tuesday removes a proposed tax on solar and wind energy projects but quickly phases out tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy. The Senate approved the bill 51-50 as President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers move to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under former President Joe Biden. Vice President JD Vance broke a tie after three Republican senators voted no. The bill now moves to the House for final legislative approval. The excise tax on solar and wind generation projects was added to the Senate bill over the weekend, prompting bipartisan pushback from lawmakers as well as clean energy developers and advocates. The final bill removes the tax but mostly sticks with legislative language released late Friday night and would end incentives for clean energy sooner than a draft version unveiled two weeks ago. Democrats and environmental groups said the GOP plan would crush growth in the wind and solar industry and lead to a spike in Americans' utility bills. The measure jeopardizes hundreds of renewable energy projects slated to boost the nation's electric grid, they said. 'Despite limited improvements, this legislation undermines the very foundation of America's manufacturing comeback and global energy leadership,' said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. If the bill becomes law, 'families will face higher electric bills, factories will shut down, Americans will lose their jobs, and our electric grid will grow weaker,'' she said. The American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, applauded the bill's passage. 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John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, hailed the bill for rescinding many elements of what he called the Biden administration's 'green new scam,' including electric vehicle tax credits that have allowed car owners to lower the purchase price of EVs by $7,500. The bill also blocks for 10 years a first-ever fee on excess methane emissions from oil and gas production. Industry groups fiercely opposed the methane fee, which was authorized by Democrats in the 2022 climate law but never implemented. The GOP bill also increases oil and gas leases on public lands and revives coal leasing in Wyoming and other states. 'Today, the Senate moved President Trump's agenda forward,'' said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican who chairs the Senate environment committee. Clean energy advocates were deeply disappointed by the bill, which they argue undoes much of the climate law before it fully takes effect. 'By eliminating a number of clean energy incentives and slashing others, this bill represents a significant step backward for America's energy future,' said Nathaniel Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. 'Curtailing incentives for electricity generated from wind and solar power is particularly shortsighted'' and will raise energy prices for households and businesses and threaten reliability of the electric grid, Keohane said.


San Francisco Chronicle
17 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Asian shares are mixed, tracking Wall Street split as momentum slows and Tesla drops
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump withholds $800 million in education grants for California, superintendent claims
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