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E&E News
a day ago
- Business
- E&E News
Solar industry highlights red state megabill job losses
The solar industry released an analysis Tuesday showing steep potential job losses as a result of the Republican tax cut, energy and security spending bill. The study is part of an effort from the Solar Energy Industries Association and other lobby groups to convince the GOP to rethink tax credit rollbacks affecting wind and solar in particular. SEIA's research, released as senators weigh changes to the House-passed megabill, says the majority of 330,000 potential job losses would be in states won by President Donald Trump in 2024. Advertisement 'From Texas and California to Florida and Illinois, lawmakers will put Americans nationwide out of work if this legislation becomes law, plain and simple,' said SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. 'We hope that U.S. senators won't let their constituents lose their livelihoods on their watch.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Company develops service that will install solar panels on your home for no money down — here's how it works
Homeowners interested in going solar can get panels installed without the cost of investment. Solar energy company Palmetto is helping consumers save money on clean energy through its leasing program. While the initial price tag for solar installation can dissuade some homeowners, the LightReach energy plan aims to minimize costs upfront. Palmetto described LightReach as "an innovative approach to home energy management for those who value the financial and environmental benefits of rooftop solar but want the ease of an affordable monthly plan." With LightReach, potential savings are calculated, and a specific solar plan is designed for home installation. The plan can be tracked through a personal solar dashboard. Installing solar panels provides many benefits for homeowners. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar panels can lower monthly utility bills and increase home value. In fact, one study showed that solar increased the value of a home by about $15,000 on average. There's also the environmental impact. Solar panels, in addition to other home upgrades like smart home technology, significantly reduce heat-trapping pollution. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, there are more than 200 gigawatts of cumulative installed solar electric capacity in the United States. That's enough to counteract more than 222 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. In the r/solar subreddit, a solar advocate initiated a discussion about owning versus leasing through companies like Palmetto. "Let me start by saying ownership and leasing a solar system are both excellent ways to go solar," the original poster prefaced before listing pros and cons for both options. In the dozens of responses, many Redditors shared their own experiences with going solar. Some mentioned that their solar decisions were based on a variety of factors, including availability and price. "All kinds of buying/leasing solar have their positives and negatives," one commenter wrote. "The main thing I would say to keep in mind, is that you need to do your due diligence and figure out what is best for the specific situation." If leasing isn't the right move for homeowners, EnergySage has free tools that provide estimates on buying and installing panels. It's a helpful resource that makes it easy to compare quotes. What's the biggest factor stopping you from investing in solar panels? The cost The technology I'm a renter I'm already invested Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Clean Energy Faces Hard Market Truths
As soon as the November 2024 election results were in, proponents of the energy transition started warning the end of their industries was nigh. They weren't wrong. Trump has wasted no time clipping the wings of wind, solar, EVs, and related industries that have enjoyed years of generous financial support—from taxpayers' money. This is now over, and these industries will need to learn to survive on their own. Republican legislators are busy drafting ways to slash billions in subsidies that have contributed significantly to the thriving of solar and wind businesses, encouraged billions in pledged investments from battery makers, for example, and cushioned the blow of EV sales losses for the Big Three as they struggle to make the shift to EVs that Americans don't really want to buy. The targeted industries are, naturally, not happy about it. 'While American businesses are demanding more energy to compete against our adversaries, and consumers are turning to clean energy to hedge against rising electricity prices, these proposals will undermine our nation's efforts to achieve President Trump's American energy dominance agenda,' the president of the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a statement in response to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's reconciliation bill proposal, released earlier this month. This is perhaps one way of putting things, even though high electricity prices appear to be inextricably linked to wind and solar proliferation—and the link appears to be direct and causal. Among the transition industries, other weapons for fighting back Trump's energy policies are the threats of lost investments and, of course, jobs. Furthermore, some are arguing that these energy policies of the current federal government are about to disrupt a 'booming business'.'Developers have built $145 billion in solar, wind and battery-storage projects since expanded federal tax credits were approved in 2022, while manufacturers have invested $73 billion in 94 factories that are now operating,' Jennifer Hiller from the Wall Street Journal wrote this week, noting that what the House lawmakers are doing with the budget reconciliation bill could put an end to all this, threatening the survival of these industries. Not only this, but state governments are appearing to turn on wind, solar, EV batteries, and anything else transition-related, tightening rules for capacity buildouts and getting more selective with the permitting. It sounds really bad for the industries concerned. However, the alarm among them begs one question: if they are, indeed, thriving, can they not keep thriving in a less-subsidized environment? Hiller's statement about the expansion of wind, solar, and battery storage is telling. That $145 billion worth of capacity was built in the two years since the Biden administration supercharged subsidy support with some $400 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act. And even with that level of support, as much as 40% of projects announced following the IRA got delayed, some of them indefinitely, as the Financial Times reported last year. These facts do not paint the picture of a 'booming business'. Rather, they paint the picture of a business environment carefully crafted and nourished selectively to survive against competition that obeys market conditions. Wind, solar, EVs, and batteries were picked as the winners in a race where all other participants followed one set of rules while the chosen ones followed their own special set of rules, involving pretty much unconditional support, while others became subjects of increasingly tighter regulation. What is happening now is the pendulum swinging back, plain and simple. Local communities across the United States are fighting back against wind turbines and solar panels on their lands, and state and local governments are running out of money to subsidize EV sales or solar installations. Meanwhile, the drawbacks of alternative energy sources have become more obvious now that there is so much capacity around. Last year's crash in wind and solar stocks was evidence enough that even with subsidies, these technologies can and do have trouble, such as the impossibility of delivering electricity on demand, the need for costly battery backup to have a chance at delivering electricity on demand, and the increasingly high costs of construction and operation—because inflation does not spare wind and solar. There is also the issue of negative prices due to overproduction of wind and solar electricity during periods of low demand and, on top of all this, too many wind turbines in one place lead to lower wind speeds and lower electricity output in a very special case of self-cannibalization. Wind and solar industries really did boom during the Biden administration. The reason for this boom was the constant and growing financial assistance they were getting from the federal government, and a lot of state and local governments determined to build a next-era energy system—based on the arguments of people with a solid vested interest in such a system even if it would ultimately prove unworkable. Now, wind and solar are being exposed to free market rules—the same that govern most other industries. That's a great opportunity to prove they can survive on their own without hundreds of billions in subsidies. By Irina Slav for More Top Reads From this article on
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solar apprenticeships give Virginia students a head start on clean energy
Powering Rural Futures: Clean energy is creating new jobs in rural America, generating opportunities for people who install solar panels, build wind turbines, weatherize homes, and more. This five-part series from the Rural News Network explores how industry, state governments, and education systems are training this growing workforce. When Mason Taylor was getting ready to graduate from high school in 2022, he thought he would have to take an entry-level technician job with a company in Tennessee. Taylor grew up in the town of Dryden in rural Lee County, in the westernmost sliver of Virginia between Kentucky and Tennessee. He had come to love the electrical courses he took in high school because there was always something new to learn, always a new way to challenge himself. Driving to Tennessee for work would likely mean two hours commuting each day. Taylor, now 21, just wanted to work close to home. A summer apprenticeship learning how to install solar arrays helped him get on-the-job training and opened up connections to local work. A regional partnership working to add solar panels to commercial buildings in the region aims to train young people as they go, developing workforce skills in anticipation of increasing demand for renewable energy-focused jobs in the heart of coal country, where skill sets and energy options are both changing. Virginia ranks eighth in the nation for installed solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, but so far, major renewable energy projects have been clustered in the eastern and southern regions of the state. Increasing the popularity of solar power in the far southwestern corner of the state depends in part on the availability of trained workers like Taylor. Andy Hershberger, director of Virginia operations for Got Electric, said the electrical contractor firm has had an apprenticeship program nearly since the company's founding. The company, which has about 100 employees total, with 40 in Virginia and an office in Maryland, has worked with Staunton-based Secure Solar Futures, a commercial and public-sector solar developer, as far back as 2012. More recently, the two companies began working to set up a training program that was more focused on solar. The catalyst was the former superintendent of Wise County schools, a school division that had signed up to put solar panels on its facilities. The superintendent saw the installation as an opportunity to get his students hands-on work on a renewable energy project. Approximately three dozen apprentices have signed up for the program since 2022, including about 13 who are currently involved, Hershberger said. They work on a variety of solar projects, including on rooftops, carports, and ground-mounted installations. 'We have been utilizing this program to train students coming out of high school and basically growing the workforce side of this thing, so we have the necessary personnel to build these solar projects long term,' Hershberger said. On top of hourly pay, apprentices get free equipment and a transportation subsidy, along with nine community college credits at Mountain Empire Community College, which provides classroom training before students step onto the job site. 'I mean, pretty much everything you need to know to go out and do any electrical job, you pretty much learned in that apprenticeship program,' Taylor said. He was in the first cohort of 10 students who installed solar panels on public schools in Lee and Wise counties in 2022. A grant from a regional economic development authority paid the students' wages while they earned credit at Mountain Empire Community College, which serves residents of Dickenson, Lee, Scott, and Wise counties, plus the city of Norton. He got a job offer from Got Electric at the end of that summer. This summer, Secure Solar Futures and Got Electric will join forces again to install more than 1,600 solar panels on the community college's classroom buildings. The project was originally slated for 2024 but was delayed due in part to a separate project upgrading fire safety equipment in one of the buildings. The 777-kilowatt solar power system will be connected to the electric grid, and Mountain Empire will receive credit for the power it generates. Hershberger said he sees interest in solar growing. 'I think there's always been folks that have adopted renewable projects, different types of energy sources. There's always the standard interest in trying to save money for facilities and campuses and things like that,' he said. Mountain Empire Community College offers solar training as a standalone career studies certificate or as part of its larger energy technology associate degree program. In Southwest Virginia, a solar installation project is more likely to consist of adding panels to homes and businesses rather than building the large, utility-scale ground-based facilities more commonly seen in Southside Virginia, said Matt Rose, the college's dean of industrial technology. On a larger project, a single worker might have a specialized role, performing the same task across a large number of panels. On a smaller project, a worker is more likely to be involved in more aspects of the job. 'Our students need to have that comprehensive understanding and ability to be able to do it all,' he said. Last year, 10 students graduated Mountain Empire with the solar installer certification. Many students who earn the certification perform solar installation work as one part of a more comprehensive job, such as being an electrician. Rose said the college's students typically start out making $17 or $18 an hour but can earn more as they become journeymen and master electricians. Nationwide, the median salary for electricians is about $61,000. In Lee County, population 22,000, the median household income is about $42,000. The number of solar installers in Southwest Virginia is unclear. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't collect data on employment by technology, so residential solar installation companies are labeled as electrical contractors, along with all other electrical businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Tony Smith, founder and CEO of Secure Solar Futures, measures the success of the company's apprenticeship program person by person. At an April event to celebrate the completion of the first phase of solar panel installation for Roanoke schools, Smith asked about several of the students from the 2022 cohort from Lee and Wise counties by name. Smith said it's tough to replicate the apprenticeship program at various school divisions. Doing so requires the work of individual school systems and the regional community colleges, instead of being able to pick up the curriculum from one area and apply it at the next project site. And all the partners — Smith's company, participating schools and installation firms — face some uncertainty for each project. It's challenging to pinpoint the timing of projects so that students have the time to participate during the summer months, he said. 'The things I learned in the apprenticeship program I'm still doing day to day,' Anthony Hamilton, 21, said. He completed the eight-week apprenticeship in Lee and Wise counties in 2022 alongside Taylor. He didn't think it would turn into a full-time job. He doubted anyone really wanted to hire a kid just starting college. He's been with Got Electric ever since, working as an electrician primarily on commercial jobs. Hamilton's solar experience has come in handy on recent installation projects at a poultry farm and at a YMCA facility. Hamilton continued going to school at Mountain Empire and graduates this month with two associate degrees in energy technology and electrical. He's also earned a handful of certificates in solar installation, air conditioning and refrigeration, and electrical fabrication, among others. With the nine credits he earned in the summer apprenticeship, he 'already had a head start on everybody in the program.' It wasn't an easy journey, though. He said he usually started his day around 6 a.m. and went to night classes after work that stretched until 9:30 p.m. Hamilton lives in Coeburn in Wise County, a 45-minute drive to the college campus. He'd get home late, then get up early and do it all over again. But his college was free through a local scholarship program that pays for up to three years of classes at Mountain Empire. He'd like to stay with Got Electric and start preparing to take his journeyman's license, which requires at least four years of practical experience on top of vocational training, plus an exam. From there, he's got designs on moving up in the company and eventually becoming a master electrician. On April 14, he was in the town of Abingdon, a few weeks into a three-month project installing a solar array at a large poultry farm that says it produces more than 650,000 eggs a day. The work so far entailed digging trenches and laying PVC pipe for the ground-mount solar system that will span one section of the farm's expansive fields. Taylor uses similar skills at work each day. But his work site looks a lot different from Hamilton's. It has taken Taylor some time to figure out how to stick close to home while working in his trade. He spent a year working with Got Electric immediately after finishing his summer apprenticeship, then left the company to work as an electrician in a local school system. He eventually returned to Got Electric for a few months, working at Virginia Tech putting solar on three buildings on campus in Blacksburg, three hours from home. He discovered he didn't like traveling for installation jobs that meant night after night in a motel room. 'That was the only complaint I had with it, about being away from home,' he said. Now he's an electrician at a state prison in Big Stone Gap. He has the same shift every day, in the same place, and drives 10 minutes home from work at the end of the day. Taylor has also taken additional classes at Mountain Empire and wants to go back this fall to finish his associate degrees in HVAC and electrical. He eventually wants to open his own business as an electrician working locally. He'd like to be able to do small solar installation jobs. Solar hasn't really caught on in far Southwest Virginia, he said — at least, not yet. Rose, the dean at Mountain Empire, noted that once major solar projects are done, maintenance doesn't require ongoing jobs, and most students who receive training in solar installation typically make it part of another job, such as being an electrician. 'We're starting to see a lot more homeowners interested in [solar] locally as a way to offset increasing energy costs, but overall most of it is just a component of the job because there's not enough demand,' Rose said. Rose predicts interest in solar will grow as more homeowners and business owners look for ways to offset rising electric bills. 'As we all look at increasing energy costs, it's going to make a lot more economic sense,' he said. Energy independence, he added, fits with the character of Southwest Virginia. 'We've always been resilient people,' Rose said. 'We've always been adapt-and-overcome people, and what better way than to basically control a little bit of your own power?' This reporting is part of a collaboration between the Institute for Nonprofit News' Rural News Network and Canary Media, South Dakota News Watch, Cardinal News, The Mendocino Voice, and The Maine Monitor. Support from Ascendium Education Group made the project possible.
Engadget
20-05-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Solar trade association warns of 'devastating energy shortages' if incentives are cut
The Solar Energy Industries Association released an assessment of how the budget reconciliation bill currently under review in Congress would have a negative impact on the economy. The legislation cuts incentives around solar power investment and adoption, such as the Section 25D residential tax credit. The group's analysis found that the bill, as it stands, would lead to the loss of nearly 300,000 current and future jobs in the US. It also said removal of incentives could mean a loss of $220 billion in investment in the sector by 2030. It also pointed to a future energy shortage, claiming that solar was on course to be responsible for about 73 percent of the 206.5 GW of new energy capacity needed in the country by 2030. 'Passing this bill would create a catastrophic energy shortfall, cede AI and tech leadership to China, and damage some of the most vital sectors of the U.S. economy,' SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said. It's the type of reaction we expect to see when an industry is under threat from federal action. It's also the type of researched data that doesn't seem to have much influence on the current administration, particularly when it comes to the environment and sustainability.
