Stop and Freeze, the Trump Shuffle. Yesterday was energy day in the White House. The President showed his true colors (right after calling himself an environmentalist, which he’s not) by freezing grants for research and other activities. The administration was so proud of that they also issued a gag order on the staff. They were prohibited from talking to the press or social media about it.
Pipelining the Oil industry’s pockets. Promptly at 11am this morning, the President executive ordered all involved to expedite the approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines. This is reflective of an administration that isn’t caring much about the numbers or jobs that come with the sector. With solar having more jobs and more growth than any of the projects he is pushing through, solar isn’t getting much respect at 1600 Penn.
What’s the argument? I don’t really think data, facts, and public perception is going to move the needle much. Legislative process and political pain are the medicine for this cold. If legislators want to pass something, make solar the bargaining chip to get something through. If they can get something through, make their homecoming town halls miserable politically.
- Huffington Post: EPA Freezes Grants, Tells Employees Not To Talk About It, Sources Say
- Think Progress: Trump uses executive action to revive Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines
- GreenBiz: Making a persuasive case for clean energy in 2017
- IEEE: Will Rooftop Solar Really Add to Utility Costs?
- PV-Magazine: Mercom – Battery storage funding shifts to deployment
- Midwest Energy News: Indiana energy bill will eliminate net metering, move to ‘buy-all, sell-all’ solar model
- Utility Dive: Montana PURPA battle returns to PSC jurisdiction after FERC ruling
- Forbes: The Cost Of Wind And Solar Intermittency
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann