Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

The federal government is investing in solar. Chinese companies are getting a share of it.

Feb 7, 2024
Chinese manufacturers are building solar panel factories on U.S. soil to avoid tariffs and garner subsidies, reports WSJ's Phred Dvorak.
Subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act are meant to offset some of the costs of manufacturing solar panels in the United States.
Rodrigo Arangua/AFP via Getty Images

Going solar isn't always sunshine and rainbows

For the early adopters of rooftop solar panels, maintaining and repairing faulty panels is a costly challenge of its own.
Many solar panel companies have gone out of business, making it hard for early adopters to repair faulty panels.
adamkaz / Getty Images

"Made in America" policy can actually hurt the U.S., economist says

Adam Posen agrees with the goals of boosting green energy and keeping China at bay. But he says protectionism won't achieve them.
One example of industrial policy is subsidies for companies doing work in clean energy, like the kind that the Inflation Reduction Act provides.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Wyoming school is training students for a new energy future

Apr 4, 2023
A power plant in the offing will need trained workers to build and operate it. A local college has the first power-line program in the state.
A student practices using his harness and spiked shoes to climb a power pole. The Western Wyoming Community College program sets up graduates to get apprenticeships to eventually become journeyman electricians.
Caitlin Tan/Wyoming Public Media

War in Ukraine disrupts Europe's green energy plans for the moment

Dec 27, 2022
The conflict has forced the continent to rely on coal.
Snow lies in a residential area while smoke rises from the chimneys of a coal-fired power plant in the background during a sub-zero day on Dec. 15, 2022 in Korbetha near Halle, Germany.
Photo by Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

Copper’s soaring price points to recovery, green-economy demand

May 10, 2021
Copper, especially, is a key ingredient in electric cars, wind turbines and batteries. Suppliers are not ready to meet the demand.
A new copper mine can take five to 10 years to come online. Above, copper rods used in machine parts.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Critical minerals for green energy may become scarce, new report warns

May 5, 2021
It's not just a mining issue. China leads in processing and purifying the minerals, but the United States lags in that industrial sector.
The world’s need for lithium for batteries may surge 75-fold in the next three decades.
David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Next on Democrats' agenda, a "holistic" infrastructure bill

Mar 15, 2021
Green energy, internet connectivity and new school buildings are likely to be on the agenda for the White House and Democrats.
Climate change and green solutions, like wind and solar power, will be a likely focus of the Biden administration's infrastructure plan. Above, a worker installs solar panels.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

French oil giant Total going big on solar energy

Jan 19, 2021
It's one of a number of growing examples of oil companies adjusting to changing energy needs.
Above, photovoltaic solar panels at the power plant in La Colle des Mees, Alpes de Haute Provence, in southeastern France in 2019.
Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images

It's not easy being green when you're poor

Mar 21, 2018
Pittsburgh's plan to green up the city may be leaving low-income residents behind.
Andres Hernandez, from the Goldin Solar company, installs a solar panel system on the roof of a home a day after the Trump administration announced it will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad on January 23, 2018 in Palmetto Bay, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images