CategoriesAlternative Energy Solar
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Final Rules Implement SEIA’s Solutions to Lower Fees and Streamline Renewable Energy Development on Public Lands

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published final rules to govern leasing and rental rates for renewable energy projects on public lands. The final rules closely follow recommendations from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to streamline clean energy development on federal lands.

The new rules will:

  • Reduce rents and fees for renewable energy projects through 2035 and eliminate duplicative payments for renewable energy developers;
  • Extend lease terms for renewable projects to 50 years;
  • Remove competitive leasing requirements in priority development areas; and  
  • Make it easier to develop standalone energy storage projects on public lands.  

Following is a statement from Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA on BLM’s final rules: 

“Today the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) codified SEIA’s recommendations to make it faster, easier, and cheaper to build clean energy projects on public lands. We need to pull every lever we can to efficiently deploy clean energy, and our nation’s public lands remain an untapped resource. BLM’s new rules are a smart step forward and will help to reverse decades of preferential treatment for fossil fuel interests.

“We commend BLM for working alongside the solar and storage industry to deliver thoughtful rules that will help us strengthen the grid and deliver reliable clean energy to more consumers. We will continue to push for pragmatic solutions that will help us achieve our ambitious clean energy goals.”

CategoriesSolar
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Why You Don’t Need to Worry About Broken Solar Panels

Recent news of a severe hailstorm damaging a solar farm in Texas included headlines stating that broken panels could pose a threat to the environment. This is false. The truth is that solar panels are safe and a necessary power source as America works to meet ever increasing demand for electricity.

First, let’s tackle why solar panels are safe.

Solar panels are generally designed and tested to withstand hail that is roughly one inch in diameter. While the Fighting Jays solar farm was hit with even larger golf ball-sized hail, many modules survived the storm, which is significant considering they weren’t built to withstand hail of that size.

There are rumors swirling that the broken solar panels contain cadmium telluride. This is categorically false. The Fighting Jays solar farm was built using crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, which do not contain that material.

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. It is everywhere and is most commonly found in sand and quartz — yes, the same stones used in glassware, countertops, and toys. Silicon is a natural material that’s all around us and is not an environmental concern.

Additionally, even if the panels did contain harmful levels of toxic substances, “leakage” is not possible.

The panels at Fighting Jays solar farm are laminated between two sheets of sealed transparent plastic. This is the same kind of plastic as footwear and other consumer goods, and it serves as the first barrier between the cells and the outside world. The panels are also covered in tempered glass, fitted with another layer of plastic or glass on the back, and framed in aluminum.

Even if the glass breaks and is left untouched or unrecycled, it would take decades to extract any type of substance from the broken panels.

Fighting Jays can and should rebuild. In the meantime, all broken solar panels can be recycled. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has a vetted network of solar panel recyclers that can handle 10 million panels per year.

Going forward, the industry is working on mitigation strategies to withstand increasingly intense storms. This includes using thicker front glass in hail-prone areas, as well as using software to automatically rotate solar panels to reduce the angle of impact during hailstorms.

Solar panels are not immune from natural disasters. No energy technology is. Natural gas pump stations and coal piles can freeze, power plants can flood, and storms can force nuclear facilities to shut down for weeks at a time.

The benefit of solar is that we know when the sun is going to shine, and the growth of energy storage is helping grid operators keep things running smoothly if a project goes offline. The irony here is that as talking heads claim this hailstorm proves solar is somehow unreliable, the Fighting Jays solar farm is reportedly still producing power at partial capacity.

As we increasingly electrify our day to day lives and America’s demand for electricity grows, we need all power sources to help keep the lights on, including solar.

Let me be clear — if you live near a solar project, you are safe. Obviously, if you hit something hard enough it will break, but as storms continue to intensify, solar is a critical part of ensuring a secure, reliable energy economy.  

CategoriesAlternative Energy Solar
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Clean Energy Industry Groups Issue Statement on New AD/CVD Petitions

Today, petitions were filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission requesting imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), American Clean Power Association (ACP), Advanced Energy United (United), and American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) issued the following statement on the petitions: 

“Today’s filing creates market uncertainty in the U.S. solar industry and poses a potential threat to the build-out of a domestic solar supply chain.

“America’s energy security relies upon building a strong domestic solar supply chain, which our members strongly support, and the Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit and incentives are working to drive historic investments in U.S. solar manufacturing that are building domestic capacity for a U.S. solar supply chain.

“We are deeply concerned the AD/CVD petitions will lead to further market volatility across the U.S. solar and storage industry and create uncertainty at a time when we need effective solutions that support U.S. solar manufacturers. We need constructive actions, like the Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit and other policies, to expand domestic solar manufacturing and deploy clean energy at scale and speed to serve growing electricity demand.

“America’s clean energy industry is urging the Biden administration to consider alternative solutions to address the petitioners’ concerns so that we can uplift American manufacturers and maintain a thriving clean energy economy across the value chain.”

CategoriesSolar
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Solar and Storage Industry Commends Treasury Dept. for Finalizing Tax Credit Transferability Rule

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued new guidance on Section 6418 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that allows clean energy tax credits to be monetized by directly transferring the credit to a taxpaying entity.

Following is a statement from Ben Norris, vice president of regulatory affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA):

“Expanded clean energy tax credits are supercharging America’s energy economy. The solar and storage industry appreciates Treasury’s efforts to quickly finalize complex rules around tax credit transferability, helping to provide the flexibility many clean energy companies need to move forward with billions of dollars in investments.

“These rules allow solar, storage, and manufacturing companies of all sizes to efficiently monetize various tax credits without the need for large, complex, and costly tax equity structures. The rules will strengthen existing transfer markets and add much needed liquidity for clean energy businesses as they navigate high interest rates and other economic headwinds.

“With the transferability provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) fully implemented, we continue to call on the Biden administration to revise proposed Basel III rules on tax equity capitalization requirements. The U.S. solar and storage industry is expected to add over half a trillion dollars to the U.S. economy over the next decade, and the proposal as written threatens to blunt the impact of the IRA’s transferability provisions.”