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Fast Company
38 minutes ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Renewable energy is a lifeline for many U.S. farms, but Trump's cuts to wind and solar are putting that at risk
Drive through the plains of Iowa or Kansas and you'll see more than rows of corn, wheat and soybeans. You'll also see towering wind turbines spinning above fields and solar panels shining in the sun on barns and machine sheds. For many farmers, these are lifelines. Renewable energy provides steady income and affordable power, helping farms stay viable when crop prices fall or drought strikes. But some of that opportunity is now at risk as the Trump administration cuts federal support for renewable energy. Wind power brings steady income for farms Wind energy is a significant economic driver in rural America. In Iowa, for example, over 60% of the state's electricity came from wind energy in 2024, and the state is a hub for wind turbine manufacturing and maintenance jobs. For landowners, wind turbines often mean stable lease payments. Those historically were around US$3,000 to $5,000 per turbine per year, with some modern agreements $5,000 to $10,000 annually, secured through 20- to 30-year contracts. Nationwide, wind and solar projects contribute about $3.5 billion annually in combined lease payments and state and local taxes, more than a third of it going directly to rural landowners. These figures are backed by long-term contracts and multibillion‑dollar annual contributions, reinforcing the economic value that turbines bring to rural landowners and communities. Wind farms also contribute to local tax revenues that help fund rural schools, roads and emergency services. In counties across Texas, wind energy has become one of the most significant contributors to local property tax bases, stabilizing community budgets and helping pay for public services as agricultural commodity revenues fluctuate. In Oldham County in northwest Texas, for example, clean energy projects provided 22% of total county revenues in 2021. In several other rural counties, wind farms rank among the top 10 property taxpayers, contributing between 38% and 69% of tax revenue. The construction and operation of these projects also bring local jobs in trucking, concrete work and electrical services, boosting small-town businesses. The U.S. wind industry supports over 300,000 U.S. jobs across construction, manufacturing, operations and other roles connected to the industry, according to the American Clean Power Association. Renewable energy has been widely expected to continue to grow along with rising energy demand. In 2024, 93% of all new electricity generating capacity was wind, solar or energy storage, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration expected a similar percentage in 2025 as of June. Solar can cut power costs on the farm Solar energy is also boosting farm finances. Farmers use rooftop panels on barns and ground-mounted systems to power irrigation pumps, grain dryers and cold storage facilities, cutting their power costs. Some farmers have adopted agrivoltaics — dual-use systems that grow crops beneath solar panels. The panels provide shade, helping conserve water, while creating a second income path. These projects often cultivate pollinator-friendly plants, vegetables such as lettuce and spinach, or even grasses for grazing sheep, making the land productive for both food and energy. Federal grants and tax credits that were significantly expanded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act helped make the upfront costs of solar installations affordable. However, the federal spending bill signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, rolled back many clean energy incentives. It phases down tax credits for distributed solar projects, particularly those under 1 megawatt, which include many farm‑scale installations, and sunsets them entirely by 2028. It also eliminates bonus credits that previously supported rural and low‑income areas. Without these credits, the upfront cost of solar power could be out of reach for some farmers, leaving them paying higher energy costs. At a 2024 conference organized by the Institute of Sustainability, Energy and Environment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I work as a research economist, farmers emphasized the importance of tax credits and other economic incentives to offset the upfront cost of solar power systems. What's being lost The cuts to federal incentives include terminating the Production Tax Credit for new projects placed in service after Dec. 31, 2027, unless construction begins by July 4, 2026, and is completed within a tight time frame. The tax credit pays eligible wind and solar facilities approximately 2.75 cents per kilowatt-hour over 10 years, effectively lowering the cost of renewable energy generation. Ending that tax credit will likely increase the cost of production, potentially leading to higher electricity prices for consumers and fewer new projects coming online. The changes also accelerate the phase‑out of wind power tax credits. Projects must now begin construction by July 4, 2026, or be in service before the end of 2027 to qualify for any credit. Meanwhile, the Investment Tax Credit, which covers 30% of installed cost for solar and other renewables, faces similar limits: Projects must begin by July 4, 2026, and be completed by the end of 2027 to claim the credits. The bill also cuts bonuses for domestic components and installations in rural or low‑income locations. These adjustments could slow new renewable energy development, particularly smaller projects that directly benefit rural communities. While many existing clean energy agreements will remain in place for now, the rollback of federal incentives threatens future projects and could limit new income streams. It also affects manufacturing and jobs in those industries, which some rural communities rely on. Renewable energy also powers rural economies Renewable energy benefits entire communities, not just individual farmers. Wind and solar projects contribute millions of dollars in tax revenue. For example, in Howard County, Iowa, wind turbines generated $2.7 million in property tax revenue in 2024, accounting for 14.5% of the county's total budget and helping fund rural schools, public safety and road improvements. In some rural counties, clean energy is the largest new source of economic activity, helping stabilize local economies otherwise reliant on agriculture's unpredictable income streams. These projects also support rural manufacturing – such as Iowa turbine blade factories like TPI Composites, which just reopened its plant in Newton, and Siemens Gamesa in Fort Madison, which supply blades for GE and Siemens turbines. The tax benefits in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act helped boost those industries – and the jobs and local tax revenue they bring in. On the solar side, rural companies like APA Solar Racking, based in Ohio, manufacture steel racking systems for utility-scale solar farms across the Midwest. An example of how renewable energy has helped boost farm incomes and keep farmers on their land. As rural America faces economic uncertainty and climate pressures, I believe homegrown renewable energy offers a practical path forward. Wind and solar aren't just fueling the grid; they're helping keep farms and rural towns alive. Paul Mwebaze is a eesearch Economist at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
This Plane Is Bigger than a 747. It Can Fly for Months on Its Own.
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Flying on solar power isn't easy, but the U.S.-based startup Skydweller Aero thinks they may have a winning design. Called the Skydweller, this autonomous drone sports a 236-foot wingspan laden with 17,000 individual solar cells, and is capable of flying for at least three months without stopping, thanks to its quadruple redundant flight software and 1,400 pounds of batteries on board. This isn't a play at cross-country sustainable flight—Skydweller Vero sees their aircraft as primarily a spy tool for loitering over conflict zones or other areas of interest. Decarbonizing various forms of human transportation has been a relatively straightforward process. Lithium-ion batteries packed inside electric cars deliver mileage per charge similar to gasoline-powered cars, and electric trains have been around for nearly 150 years. Flying, on the other hand, has been a bit more difficult. Turns out you need a lot of energy to keep things running in mid-air, and that can be quite the engineering challenge. It's a difficulty that's been thoroughly explored by solar-powered electric planes like Solar Impulse, which completed a piloted round-the-world flight back in 2016. And now, a new kind of a solar plane—called the Skydweller—is following in its footsteps. Although more of a drone than a plane (since it's designed to be autonomous), the Skydweller—built by the U.S. tech startup Skydweller Aero—contains 17,000 individual solar cells placed across its gargantuan 236-foot wingspan, which is wider than a Boeing 747 tip-to-tip. Of course, seeing as it has no human cargo, it's also 160 times lighter (thanks to its carbon fiber construction), and can carry only 2.5 metric tons at max capacity. In April 2024, Skydweller successful performed its first unmanned test flight at Stennis International Airport in Mississippi. 'This is a true, world-changing first in the aerospace industry,' Skydweller Aero CEO Robert Miller said in a press statement at the time. 'We are applying cutting-edge, 21st-century materials science, artificial intelligence, and software development to an industry that has spent more than 100 years building piloted, combustion-based aircraft.' While it sounds a bit like the main character from some schlocky Star Wars ripoff, the name is an apt one, as Skydweller isn't designed with human passengers in mind. Instead, Skydweller Aero sees its aircraft primarily as a surveillance machine, circling the sky and providing much-needed eyes over conflict zones or other areas of interest. Powered by the Sun, the company estimates that it can stay airborne for at least three months at a time—if not longer. To survive those long nights when the Sun isn't shining, the aircraft is equipped with 1,400 pounds of batteries, and it also drops to lower elevations, descending from its typical operating range of between 25,000 and 35,000 feet down to between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Of course, power is only part of the issue—the Skydweller's aviation software also has to continuously run without error. According to Skydweller's website, the aircraft's vehicle management system maintains quadruple redundancy by using 'advanced self-healing algorithms within the VMS' to autonomously shut down, fix, and resurrect while the drone is in flight. The U.S. military has invested in a variety of surveillance balloons and blimps in the recent past. The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS), first requested in the late 90s, was meant to fulfill a similar role, but was effectively cancelled in 2017. Recently, the U.S. Army has worked with the private company Aerostar to develop spy balloons capable of staying aloft for a month (and were last seen not over a warzone, but instead the city of Tucszon, Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border). No doubt the Skydweller would add another tool to that surveillance arsenal. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Australia boosts underwriting scheme for renewables to meet clean energy target
SYDNEY, July 29 (Reuters) - Australia will expand the volume of solar and wind projects it underwrites in the race to stabilise an ageing power grid and hit a target of 82% renewable energy generation by 2030, the energy minister said on Tuesday. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the Capacity Investment Scheme, the government's flagship program to boost private investment in clean energy projects, would be expanded by 25%. That will help underwrite an additional 8 gigawatts of generation and storage projects, taking the scheme's total coverage to 40 GW. "As our ageing coal-fired power stations only become more expensive and more unreliable we need new generation now," Bowen told the Investor Group on Climate Change. "Our energy grid's transition remains urgent," he added in an excerpt of a speech released to media. Analysts project Australia will fall far short of its goal of 82% renewable energy generation by 2030, thanks to inadequate investment and grid connection delays. Under the scheme, the government calls for competitive tenders and agrees floor and ceiling limits on project revenue, paying the difference if it falls below the floor, while sharing in profits if the ceiling is exceeded. The six tender rounds held since the scheme's 2022 launch were "consistently and massively" oversubscribed, said Bowen, who is also the minister for climate change. The declining costs of batteries and solar power gave the government an opportunity to "supercharge" the transition to renewable energy, he said. Underwriting an additional 5 GW of dispatchable capacity, such as batteries, is expected to support investment of A$21 billion ($13.7 billion). A further 3 GW of wind and solar projects is expected to help to power an additional 1 million households. ($1=1.5333 Australian dollars)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SUNOTEC and Sungrow to deploy 2.4GWh BESS across Europe
SUNOTEC has signed an agreement with Sungrow to deploy 2.4 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery energy storage systems (BESS) across multiple solar power projects in Europe. The collaboration emphasises SUNOTEC's long-term strategy to expedite the incorporation of flexible and intelligent energy systems into its solar infrastructure portfolio. The 2.4GWh energy storage capacity will bolster grid stability, facilitate improved integration of renewable energy and enhance the reliability of solar parks developed by SUNOTEC across Bulgaria and broader Europe. Sungrow will supply its PowerTitan 2.0 BESS solution along with the string inverter SG350HX-20 and MVS for a hybrid project, comprising photovoltaic (PV) and BESS. Sungrow regional director for Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe and CIS the Commonwealth of Independent States, which is the group of nations around the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea] Anastasios Gkinis stated: 'This collaboration with SUNOTEC is a cornerstone of our mission to accelerate clean energy deployment in Bulgaria and across Europe. 'Combining Sungrow's cutting-edge energy storage technology with SUNOTEC's execution excellence, we create a powerful force to redefine the energy landscape in Bulgaria and support the region's transition to a sustainable energy future.' SUNOTEC's forthcoming portfolio features several large-scale projects nationwide, designed to address energy storage requirements. Among the projects set for development, several will receive funding from Bulgaria's RESTORE national support programme. All will be flagship installations, showcasing some of the largest and most advanced energy storage systems in both the country and Europe to date. SUNOTEC founder and CEO Kaloyan Velichkov stated: 'The global energy transition depends not only on how much renewable power we produce, but on how intelligently we manage and store. 'This partnership with SUNGROW reflects our shared ambition to lead the next chapter of clean energy — by building resilient, storage-enabled infrastructure that brings stability, sustainability and scale to markets across Europe and beyond.' In July 2025, SUNOTEC finalised the acquisition of SIA DSE Lazas Solar's solar and energy storage project in Latvia from Danish Sun Energy. This acquisition will facilitate the development of a new PV solar power plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts peak (MWp) and an additional 600 megawatt hours (MWh) of BESS. "SUNOTEC and Sungrow to deploy 2.4GWh BESS across Europe" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Clean Energy's ‘Unstoppable' Global Growth
Current Climate brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability every Monday. Sign up to get it in your inbox. AFP via Getty Images F or decades, big shifts in U.S. policy have set the standard for the rest of the world. But when it comes to the Trump Administration's efforts to accelerate the use of oil, gas and coal, there's little indication the world will follow. There's a simple reason: solar, wind and other renewable power sources are cheaper and their capabilities are growing much faster than fossil fuels. A new assessment by the U.N.'s International Renewable Energy Agency found that 91% of clean energy projects added in 2024 were cheaper to build and operate than those using fossil fuels. An estimated $2 trillion was invested in clean energy last year, or $800 billion more than for new fossil fuel projects, a 70% increase over the past decade. And on average, solar power systems were 41% less expensive than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative, while onshore wind projects were 53% less costly, the report found. Overall, wind was the cheapest source of new renewable electricity last year, averaging 34 cents per kilowatt hour, followed by solar at 43 cents/kWh. Globally, a record 582 gigawatts of renewable electricity capacity was added in 2024, resulting in $57 billion in cost savings, according to IRENA. Beyond cost and climate benefits, increased use of renewable power also helps boost the energy security of individual nations, particularly those that are resource-poor, by reducing their dependence on imported fossil fuels. 'The energy transition is unstoppable, but the transition is not yet fast enough or fair enough,' said UN Secretary‑General António Guterres. 'This is not just a shift in power. It is a shift in possibility.' Even in the U.S., clean energy projects continue apace. Though President Trump's new budget eliminates federal incentives for large-scale solar and wind projects in the U.S., those changes phase in over the next two years, giving big utilities time to add more capacity in the near term. This year alone, a record 32.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar will likely be added to the domestic grid, along with 7.7 GWs of wind power and 18.2 GWs of new battery storage capacity, according to an Energy Information Administration estimate. By comparison, just 4.4 GWs of new gas-fired power will likely be added. Clean power 'is no longer a promise, it is a fact' that can't be stopped, Guterres said. 'The fossil fuel lobby will try, and we know the lengths to which they will go. But, I have never been more confident that they will fail because we have passed the point of no return.' The Big Read Newsday via Getty Images New York City's Congestion Pricing Is Working The latest data from TomTom shows that New York City's congestion pricing is working as planned. Real-time traffic patterns from January through mid-July indicate that downtown Manhattan has experienced a notable decrease in motor vehicle congestion and a corresponding drop in travel times. The amount of time drivers spend in rush hour has decreased, and average speeds for motorists in their cars have increased. Congestion decreased by nearly 4% year over year in the first four months of 2025, from 26.2% to 22.8%. Travel times for motorists decreased by 90 seconds per six miles as average car speeds increased slightly from 16.3 km/h to 17.1 km/h (note: motorists still have average speeds slower than many bicyclists). July congestion continued to drop, from 24.4% to 22.3%, with only half the month measured. Introduced on January 5, 2025, NYC's congestion toll was the first of its kind in the United States. The scheme requires drivers to pay a fee—based on the time and duration of their visit and their vehicle type—to enter the lower part of Manhattan, from the southern end of Central Park to the city's financial district. Read more here Hot Topic Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Rachel Cleetus, Union of Concerned Scientists' senior policy director, and UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain on the possibility of the EPA abandoning the 'Endangerment Finding' and its efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (Note: 'On Monday, June 30, 2025, EPA sent over its 'Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards' proposal to the Office of Management and Budget,' an EPA spokesperson told Forbes . 'The proposal will be published for public notice and comment once it has completed interagency review and been signed by the Administrator.') What impact do you anticipate from the elimination of the Endangerment Finding? Cleetus: We need to see what's in the actual proposal, what exactly they're going to say. But it's so clear in this case that there's no rational basis to undermine or overturn the Endangerment Finding or to roll back all of these regulations that are meant to protect public health. Of course, this would be challenged in a variety of ways, including just the science, putting forward what is the latest science, which is even more dire and compelling since the 2009 Endangerment Finding. That record, the science is very, very clear and there will be a variety of challenges to what EPA puts forward. But we need to see what's in the actual proposal, how exactly they are setting up this evasion of their responsibility. If this happens and is upheld in court, is there any ability at the state or local level in the U.S. to maintain certain aspects of climate-oriented regulations? Cleetus: I don't want to speculate too far into the future because we don't know what EPA will release. What I can say is this administration and the EPA has shown itself to not care about public health at all and to be boosting fossil fuels in every way it can. And not only that, they are really overreaching in ways that go beyond what's legally their mandate to do. We have not seen Congress stand up strongly. We are a democracy, and there are supposed to be checks and balances. The courts have a role, Congress has a role, and policymakers are supposed to be looking out for the public interest. As far as what comes next, I think anybody who cares about public health and welfare understands that climate change is a reality and it's on our doorstep. Wherever you live in this country, it is showing up in your community. There's no denying it. This is not a political issue. It doesn't matter if you're in a Red state or a Blue state. These climate impacts are being experienced by communities everywhere in this country. So any policymaker who's looking out for their constituents, any lawmaker who's thinking about the public has to take it seriously. Given the increasing frequency of severe weather events fueled by a changing climate, how does eliminating the Endangerment Finding at this time strike you? Swain: As everyone else has characterized it–anyone who knows anything about climate change or climate policy or carbon emissions or extreme weather or anything else–it would effectively end the federal government's ability to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant that can cause harm. That's a big deal because it is the primary regulatory or legal mechanism by which the federal government has done so in many cases in recent years. We've already seen dramatic rollbacks in other pollution regulations, dramatic rollbacks and support for green energy and for expanding the electrical grid and everything else, so this is on top of all of that. Practically speaking, the U.S. is only one country of course. This doesn't affect any other country's regulations of greenhouse gases. But the U.S. is one of the largest global emitters. And it has historically been a role model for much of the rest of the world in large-scale environmental policies. I think this marks the end of that era pretty definitively. We are seeing, in general, far more extreme heat events, even more record-shattering heat events. We're seeing more extreme downpours of rain like the ones we've seen in Texas and so many different places around the country this summer. And we are seeing intensification of hurricanes and of wildfires. Even though the U.S. is not the only global emitter and the U.S. does not control global climate policy, it is still bad news to the extent that it raises the potential of extra fractions of a degree of warming this century, even just based on what's happening in the U.S., because it slows progress in a very important country from a global perspective. It also sends a signal globally that not everyone is cooperating, and that signal of cooperation itself is an important part of getting buy-in from all nations. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images What Else We're Reading Trump cancels $4.9 billion loan for the biggest U.S. transmission line project. The Grain Belt Express was to bring huge amounts of cheap wind and solar from the plains to the East ( Canary Media ) The International Court of Justice says wealthy nations must curb global warming. The UN court said they must address climate change's 'urgent and existential threat" ( Reuters ) California needs a little less farmland – and a lot more solar power ( Los Angeles Times ) An electricity affordability crisis is coming. It sure looks that way, at least ( Heatmap ) As U.S. retreats on climate, China and Europe are going green together. They promise new efforts to cut emissions as China positions itself as the world's one-stop shop for clean energy tech ( New York Times ) How a California cloud-seeding company became the center of a Texas flood conspiracy. Rainmaker was accused of causing the flood after conducting operations in the area ( Los Angeles Times ) More From Forbes Forbes With Tariffs Looming, Automakers' EV Incentives Are Booming By Jim Gorzelany Forbes China, India's Coal Usage Delivers Energy Transition Reality Check By Gaurav Sharma Forbes Solid-State Batteries Still Face Hurdles But The Prize Is Huge For EVs By Neil Winton
