EnviroPolitics Blog

How U.S. Tax Breaks Brought a Chinese Solar Energy Giant to Ohio

The Inflation Reduction Act restored American manufacturing jobs – and gave China an opportunity to extend its dominance in some clean energy technologies.

By Bloomberg News, October 29, 2024

Nestled among the corn fields of Pataskala, Ohio, Illuminate USA’s sprawling new solar factory is buzzing. Hundreds of freshly hired local employees are hoisting pallets, soldering equipment and inspecting their work as sheets of glass are transformed into state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels. They’re collecting hourly wages that start at double the state minimum. The factory has also delivered contracts to area electricians and suppliers.

Inside the plant, signs in both English and Mandarin admonish workers to clean up trash. Machine displays also toggle between the two languages. More than 100 Chinese nationals are on site working alongside more than 1,000 American colleagues, and bridging the language barrier requires lots of hand gestures and smartphone-enabled translation. Illuminate says much of this is temporary, and most of the Chinese workers will leave once the Americans are up to speed.

But long after they return home, Longi will continue to profit. The joint venture benefits from millions in economic development incentives and federal tax credits for domestic clean energy manufacturing. For its part, Longi avoids anti-China tariffs and deepens its foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing solar markets.

The Illuminate USA plant in Pataskala. Photographer: Maddie McGarvey/Bloomberg

Companies based in or linked to China are replicating the strategy across the US. They are building or planning to build at least a dozen plants with 30 gigawatts of module-making capacity, according to a Bloomberg review of public statements, filings and other documentation. All told, the facilities would be able to supply roughly three-quarters of today’s US panel needs.

Read the full story here

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How U.S. Tax Breaks Brought a Chinese Solar Energy Giant to Ohio Read More »

LNG Freight Rates Plunge. Too Many Ships, Too Little Demand

SINGAPORE, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Liquefied natural gas shipping rates have hit multi-year lows and may extend losses going into 2025, analysts and shipping sources said, with new tankers being added at a faster rate than LNG production is rising and spot demand still tepid.

New LNG tankers, built in anticipation of rising U.S. exports after a plunge in Russian gas supplies to Europe in 2022, are coming online earlier than liquefaction projects, which have been delayed amid inflation from strong wage growth and a shortage of skilled labor and equipment.

With more ships expected to come, freight rates for LNG tankers may remain depressed until late 2025 when new production starts up, said Samuel Good, head of LNG pricing at commodity pricing agency Argus.

Read the full story here

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Deer and wild turkey in Maine contaminated with PFAS?

The expanded advisory against eating meat from deer and turkeys in certain parts of the state is the latest consequence of Maine’s state-licensed program for farmers to use sewage sludge to fertilize their fields. The sludge has since been found to be high in harmful forever chemicals.

By Penelope Overton, Portland Press Herald

With its most popular hunting season starting Saturday, Maine has expanded a “do not eat” advisory zone for deer and turkey bagged in central Maine due to elevated levels of harmful toxic chemicals detected in recent wildlife testing.

The hunting restriction is one of the unexpected consequences of Maine’s forever chemical crisis. The state encouraged farmers to recycle sewage sludge to fertilize the agricultural fields of central Maine. While treated for pathogens, the sludge was later found high in harmful forever chemicals.

The new advisory came out last week. Maine’s firearms hunting season starts Saturday for residents. That will be the first chance for hunters who don’t use a bow-and-arrow to bag their annual deer. Fall wild turkey season began in September, depending on the area, and ends Nov. 7.

Read the full story here

If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for a full month.

Deer and wild turkey in Maine contaminated with PFAS? Read More »

Action on energy and enviro bills yesterday in NJ Legislature

A3033 – Designates Common Eastern Bumble Bee as New Jersey State Native Pollinator.
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Assembly 75-2-0

A4569 – Appropriates $128.241 million from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to State Agriculture Development Committee for farmland preservation purposes.
• 10/28/2024 Substituted by S-2788 (1R)

S 286 – Permits certain local units and authorities to reduce water, sewer, and stormwater fees and other charges for low-income persons.
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Senate 27-12
• 10/28/2024 Received in Assembly and referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

S2788 – Appropriates $128.241 million from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to State Agriculture Development Committee for farmland preservation purposes. (Copy not available)
• 10/28/2024 Substituted for A-4569 (1R)
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Assembly 77-0-0
• 10/28/2024 Received in Senate, 2nd reading in Senate to concur with Assembly amendments
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Senate and sent to Governor 40-0

S 3308 – Requires electric public utilities to implement certain improvements to the interconnection process for certain grid supply solar facilities.
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Senate 40-0
• 10/28/2024 Received in Assembly and referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

S3618 – Directs DEP and DOT to establish “Wildlife Corridor Action Plan”.
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Senate 40-0
• 10/28/2024 Received in Assembly and referred to Assembly Commerce. Economic Development and Agriculture Committee

S3620 – Requires electric and gas public utilities to establish “Energy Bill Watch” program and include certain information in bills and notices to customers.
• 10/28/2024 Passed in Senate 27-13
• 10/28/2024 Received in Assembly and referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

Action on energy and enviro bills yesterday in NJ Legislature Read More »

Enviros push to close seldom-used Brooklyn power plants

By Rosemary Misdary, Gothamist

New York state will not meet its goal of shutting down inefficient power plants that only operate a few days a year by next May — and advocates say in a new report that communities in Brooklyn will suffer the consequences.

Two “peaker plants” in Sunset Park and Gowanus are only activated when there is high demand for electricity, like the hottest days of the summer. In July, the New York Independent System Operator, which coordinates the daily distribution of electricity, extended the life of both fossil-fuel plants for two years, citing a “reliability gap” to address 4.5% of peak demand.

In the report, a coalition of environmental groups criticize that decision as “subjecting nearby communities … to extended exposure to harmful emissions.”

“A lot of the costs of peaker power plants are not from when they are operating but actually for the cost of just being available to operate when demand is highest,” said Daniel Chu, one of the report’s authors and an energy planner at the nonprofit New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.

Peaker plants are expensive for New Yorkers. The mostly idle facilities are fully staffed. Between 2010 and 2019, peaker plants cost $450 million annually for around 100 hours of operation, according to Chu.

In a cruel twist, people living near peaker plants tend to experience more frequent brownouts and blackouts, the report states. Peaker plants also release sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, which have an extensive list of negative health effects, including heart disease, cancer and premature death.

Read the full story here

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Offshore wind leases in Gulf of Maine up for auction next week

A floating concrete hull developed by UMaine researchers for offshore wind turbines is tested near Castine in 2013. Proximity to this kind of research and technology, called VolturnUS, helps make the Gulf of Maine attractive to wind developers. *Photo by University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center*

By Stephen Singer, Portland Press Herald

Maine will move closer to staking a claim in offshore wind development when the federal government seeks on Tuesday to auction off eight areas for commercial wind energy leases in the Gulf of Maine.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will offer lease sites comprising 850,000 acres off Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

If fully developed, the areas have a total potential capacity of approximately 13 gigawatts that could power more than 4.5 million homes, federal officials say.

“Seeing us get to this point where commercial leases are offered to developers is a big step,” said Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “For Maine and the region as a whole, floating offshore wind is an indispensable part of clean energy resources we need to replace natural gas.”

Read the full story here

Offshore wind leases in Gulf of Maine up for auction next week Read More »

How U.S. Tax Breaks Brought a Chinese Solar Energy Giant to Ohio

The Inflation Reduction Act restored American manufacturing jobs – and gave China an opportunity to extend its dominance in some clean energy technologies.

LNG Freight Rates Plunge. Too Many Ships, Too Little Demand

Deer and wild turkey in Maine contaminated with PFAS?

The expanded advisory against eating meat from deer and turkeys in certain parts of the state is the latest consequence of Maine’s state-licensed program for farmers to use sewage sludge to fertilize their fields. The sludge has since been found to be high in harmful forever chemicals.

Action on energy and enviro bills yesterday in NJ Legislature

Enviros push to close seldom-used Brooklyn power plants

Offshore wind leases in Gulf of Maine up for auction next week

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