West Virginia brings first of 5 solar farms online – why that matters
The first of five planned West Virginia solar farms just came online – here’s why that’s significant for the state.
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Short-term pain for green jobs, but there could be long-term gain
The US lost more than 100,000 green energy jobs in March due to the coronavirus shutdown, but the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) first Global Renewables Outlook, released today, reports that if the world thinks long term, investment in green energy would be a huge boost to the global economy.
More Americans now work in Solar Power than the extraction of Oil &Gas, or Coal
Solar Power now has more employees than either the Oil & Gas or Coal Extraction industries in the United States. The solar industry employed approximately 208,000 individuals at the end of 2015 versus 185,000+ in oil and gas, or 190,000 in coal extraction. Solar power employment is expected to grow an additional 15% in 2016 to almost 240,000 individuals. Globally, solar power now directly employs 2.8 million people as the largest renewable energy employer.
SolarCity CEO says the US solar industry could lose 100,000 jobs if the federal tax credit is not renewed
Several solar companies saw double digits stock price increases on Monday. The surge can be partly attributed to the Paris agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but it was mainly due to reports of negotiation for the renewal of the federal tax credit for solar energy.
Democrats are said to be willing to agree to a lift on the 40-year ban on US crude oil exports, if the bill includes a long-term extension of the wind and solar tax credits. The deal isn’t done, but as the industry is getting closer to the phasing out of the tax credits, which are set to fall from 30% to 10% in 2017, the industry is warning politicians about the impact of inaction.
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