The Fundamental Dilemma. Europe is currently debating the basic issue between policy and capitalism. In solar’s case it’s the value of low priced solar panels and the ability to build super cheap solar farms that benefit the utilities and consumers with the energy cost that everyone wants. On the flip side, everyone also wants to have a local/domestic supply chain. The EU commission is warning regulators that additional tariffs will put solar targets at risk, since it will both increase the price and decrease the available supply of modules to the market given that the local supply chain is not there. I don’t have a good answer to this, I want to see local supply chains but I also worry that local supply chains created in momentary policy decisions are hard to maintain sustainably for the long term.
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- Reuters: BP weighs bringing in partners to solar business, says CEO
- Grist: As states slash rooftop solar incentives, Puerto Rico extends them
- PV-Tech: Solar to lead EU power generation growth in 2024
- Solar Power World: USITC’s midterm report on Sec. 201 solar tariffs heads to President
- Energy Storage news: New Jersey Senators seek to remedy state’s slow progress on energy storage deployment
- Canary Media: Duke Energy seeks to delay its 2030 climate target in North Carolina
Opinion
Best, Yann