Tricks of the TradeTrump's Second TermMy EconomyI've Always Wondered ...

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!
Stories Tagged as

Solar

U.S. solar manufacturing is at a crossroads

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Oct 29, 2024
Some U.S. solar panel makers are pro tariffs on Chinese-made materials. Others say the industry can't meet demand without imported products.
The U.S. solar industry is divided on what tariff policy is ideal for the green energy transition.
Dustin Chambers/The Washington Post via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Breaking Ground

Wait, how much will the Inflation Reduction Act's climate provisions cost?

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Mar 13, 2024
We break down the role of uncapped tax credits in the IRA's climate provisions with John Bistline of the Electric Power Research Institute.
Many of the IRA's tax credits are not capped and last for at least 10 years, creating variability in the total projected cost.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Solar a bright spot in slow progress toward U.S. renewable energy goals

by Samantha Fields
Aug 30, 2023
Shipments of solar panels reached a record high last year, though most were imported. They're also getting cheaper.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

U.S. industry group commits to $6 billion solar panel buy — on one condition

by Andy Uhler
Jun 22, 2022
(They'll have to be made here in America.)
U.S. companies know how to build solar panels. Sourcing the inputs will take time.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

In Maine, some wonder if solar panels are starting to cover up too much farmland

by Robbie Feinberg
Mar 14, 2022
One possibility: finding ways to use land under and around solar panels to grow crops.
Farmer Bussie York stands amidst the large solar array of about 300,000 panels on his farm in Farmington, Maine.
Robbie Feinberg/Maine Public
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Renewable energy generating capacity hit a record this year. But that's half the story.

by Samantha Fields
Dec 1, 2021
Because no form of electrical generation operates at full capacity all the time.
Onshore windmills generally produce energy about one-third of the time, an expert said. Above a wind farm near Palm Springs, California.
Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Why Trump's solar and washing machine tariffs may play well in Michigan

by David Brancaccio
Jan 25, 2018
A former Democratic state politician says the taxes are one of the few things the president has done that he can support.
President Donald Trump displays a Section 201 action as US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer witnesses, in the Oval Office, at the White House, January 23, 2018, in Washington, DC. The administration is issuing tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines to protect American manufacturing companies against dumping by foreign countries, mainly China, and including South Korea.
Mike Theiler-Pool/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For public good, not for profit.

Donate
Economics of Disaster

Puerto Rico's solar industry wins big after hurricane

by Lizzie O'Leary
Nov 30, 2017
Why people are banking on solar for the future of Puerto Rico.
Solar panels cover a rooftop in Puerto Rico's San Juan. The island's solar industry is witnessing a boom post Hurricane Maria.
Joanne Griffith/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

A move from natural gas to electricity for homes

by Marketplace Contributor
Oct 17, 2017
Natural gas used to be hailed as less polluting, but experts now urge a change to clean electrical energy generated by wind and solar power.
The National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA) once issued medallions like this one to promote the all-electric home and spur demand for electric appliances. 
Photo courtesy NEMA
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Solar tariffs request is dividing the industry

by Jed Kim
Jun 23, 2017
Cheap imported panels hurt manufacturers but are key to other solar businesses.
China went from producing very little of the world's solar equipment 20 years ago to becoming the leading producer.
John Moore/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE