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How to sell solar in coal country
Solar advocates in southwestern Virginia say being local, proving the technology works, and building a coalition to support it have been key to their success.
When Matt McFadden came of age in southwestern Virginia in the early 2000s, he wasn’t planning on working for a clean energy outfit. He grew up playing in a high school garage band, part of his increasingly Republican county’s small punk scene. But staring out at the photovoltaic panels gleaming atop his daughter’s elementary school in July — an array his company, Secure Solar Futures, installed — he was beaming with pride. In the midst of the Inflation Reduction Act’s rollout, McFadden and coal-rich Wise County have something many politically conservative areas from Texas to Ohio are struggling to create: Real, and growing, support for solar.
McFadden and his firm have not accomplished this alone. In 2016, a coalition of businesses, nonprofits, colleges, local governments, and citizens launched the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia, which collaborates with Secure Solar Futures. It includes experts in every aspect of the green transition, from community organizers who tell neighbors about the benefits of solar to legal experts who propose legislation. The organization was heavily involved in the deal to install arrays on 12 schools in Lee and Wise counties and brought the idea to the attention of the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund, which, along with some state funding, financed part of the ongoing project.
Wise County is one of seven coal-producing counties in southwestern Virginia, and the rock has been pulled from the surrounding hills since 1880. In 2021, a panel that advises President Biden named the region the nation’s fourth most coal-dependent economy and said it should be prioritized when considering grants to remedy environmental damage and create union jobs. McFadden said provisions in the IRA that provide tax credits for projects in low-income and coal communities, coupled with those that reward using domestically manufactured components, allow his company to save up to 60 percent on an installation — savings that it passes on to customers.
Such factors have made this solar energy’s time to shine in southwestern Virginia. According to a 2017 report from consultants at Downstream Strategies, projected installations of commercial, residential, and utility-scale arrays could generate 2,163 permanent and temporary jobs in the region by 2028. That may not seem like much compared to how many the coal industry employed at its peak, but advocates see solar as one part of a diversified regional economy.
“I know this is the future. I know this is where we need to go,” McFadden said. “And it’s going to help create jobs.”
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Swedish authorities battle to stabilise stricken ferry leaking oil into Baltic Sea
Coast guard tackling ‘very serious’ incident as severe weather hampers efforts to empty oil from Marco Polo, which grounded near Hörvik
A ferry that ran aground off south-eastern Sweden had “extensive damage” and was leaking oil into the Baltic Sea, a spokesman for the Swedish coast guard said.
On 22 October the Marco Polo was running between two Swedish ports – Trelleborg and Karlshamn – when it ran aground near Horvik and started leaking. It continued under its own power before grounding a second time.
The 75 people onboard, both passengers and crew, were evacuated. The ferry, operated by TT-Line of Germany, took on water but was not at risk of sinking.
The groundings released a slick of fuel that reached the shores near Solvesborg, 110km (68 miles) north-east of Malmö, Sweden’s third-largest city. Swedish media carried photos of birds partly covered in oil.
Swedish prosecutors handed down fines to the captain and an officer who was in charge at the time of the grounding, saying they acted recklessly by relying on a faulty GPS.
Initially the plan was to pump out the remaining oil from the ferry. That plan was thwarted on Sunday when the ferry slipped off its grounding because of severe weather, the Swedish coast guard and the TT-Line company said. It drifted further out, got stuck for a third time and leaked more oil.
The latest movement “did not damage the previously unbreached oil tanks”, TT-Line said. “We are aware of the impact the incident has caused and we are taking the case very seriously.”
Swedish authorities – including the civil protection agency – sent planes, drones, ships and people to the site. Two tugboats were sent to stabilise the ferry. On Monday, authorities said they were increasing the resources allocated, with several ships and more staff, after further oil spills were discovered.
“Our first priority is to limit the release from the accident and prevent further releases,” said Tobias Bogholt, of the Swedish coast guard. He could not say how much oil was spilled after the third grounding.
Valdemar Lindekrantz, also from the coast guard, told Swedish news agency TT that there was “a larger amount of oil in the water after the new grounding. It is very serious.”
About 25 cubic metres of oil and oil waste had been removed by Monday. Authorities said the spill stretched over 5km (three miles) out to sea.
Source
EU sees growing dependence on clean technology imports
The European Commission’s review of the competitiveness of clean energy technologies finds that while remaining highly cost competitive, market shares are falling.
While there are positive trends, such as the 50% increase in the roll-out rate of wind and solar in the EU in 2022 compared to 2021, from raw materials to key intermediate components and final clean energy technologies, the region is becoming more dependent on imports from third countries, the report finds.
For example, over 60% of the global manufacturing capacity for key value chain segments of batteries and solar is located in China, with over 90% of the capacity for the wafers and ingots required for solar PV there.
The progress report, part of the 2023 ‘State of the Energy Union’ assessment, notes the Green Deal Industrial Plan, Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act as amongst the EU’s key actions to lower the dependence on the imports of net zero technologies and to build a strong domestic manufacturing base.
However, skills remain an issue and may curb growth in the sector, according to the report, which cites almost 80% of small and medium-sized companies reporting it generally difficult to find workers with the right skills in 2023.
Moreover, designing a successful R&I pathway is also key for a competitive clean energy industry and defining clear national 2030 and 2050 targets are crucial elements to this.
Another indicator is venture capital investments. In 2022 VC investments in 2022 were 42% up on 2021, but, except for batteries, the EU has still not fully unlocked its capacity to attract higher growth deals as the US and China have done.
Clean energy technologies
Regarding individual clean technologies, the report states that for solar PV there needs to be a scaling up of manufacturing plants and a focus on innovative products and advanced and more sustainable manufacturing processes.
Likewise innovative solutions and continuous technological advances are key to boost competitiveness of solar thermal.
The wind sector remains strong, despite a drop in the market share to 30% in 2022 from 42% in 2019 but the new wind action plan should help to accelerate permitting, improve auction systems across the EU and strengthen the supply chains.
For the ocean energy technology sector, investors need reassurance, while for the geothermal sector more available underground data as well as technology improvements are needed.
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Deforestation has big impact on regional temperatures, study of Brazilian Amazon shows
Research highlights benefits forests bring surrounding regions in terms of cooler air and more rainfall
Deforestation has a far greater impact on regional temperatures than previously believed, according to a new study of the Brazilian Amazon that shows agricultural businesses would be among the biggest beneficiaries of forest conservation.
The research has important political implications because farmers in Amazonian states have, until now, led the way in forest destruction on the assumption that they will make money by clearing more land.
The new research highlights the other side of the picture. It shows the agricultural heartland of Mato Grosso, where crops are already suffering from drought and extreme heat, would be just over half a degree celsius hotter by 2050 if deforestation continued at the rapid rate of recent years.
The paper, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrated Amazon deforestation causes warming at distances up to 60 miles (100km) away. The greater the forest clearance, the higher the temperature. This is in addition to the wider climate impact of global heating.
Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds said the average tree had a cooling effect equivalent to two to three 2.5kW air conditioners working at full power every hour of every day. This works through evapotranspiration, which he said was very similar to the sweat humans produce to lower body temperature. He said the effect spread wider than anyone had realised.
“We always thought this might be happening, but the extent is bigger than I would have thought,” he said. “More and more, we are demonstrating the big benefits the forests bring to surrounding regions. For farmers, they bring cooler air and more rainfall. Hopefully putting numbers on these benefits will help to persuade a broader set of people to protect forest areas.”
An increasing number of peer-reviewed studies are proving the importance of the Amazon in maintaining a stable regional climate. Earlier this year, a paper showed that forest clearance reduced rainfall up to 125 miles away. More recently, research at a greater scale demonstrated that the Amazon was coupled with the South American monsoon and that continued deforestation could reduce regional precipitation by 30% with dire consequences for food production.
Until now, studies on the impact of forest clearance on heat have concentrated on local effects with a clear correlation between loss of tree cover and higher temperatures in the area where the trees were cut down. The new research went further by looking at whether there is also a warming effect over a wider area. Using satellite data and artificial intelligence, the authors found a 0.7C increase in temperature for each 10-percentage point loss of forest within a radius of 60 miles.
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Net zero investing and its impact on asset allocation
GLOBAL warming and the net zero transition have far-reaching implications for investors. In particular, embracing a net zero path will impact investors’ asset allocation in two ways.
Firstly, strategic asset allocation decisions will need to consider how the transition will impact economic and financial variables and thereby, the returns investors can expect in the future across asset classes. Our findings suggest that the transition will lower the expected returns of risky asset classes including equity and high yield credit. Corporate cost structures will be negatively impacted, leading to lower earnings growth. Yet, we also recognise that responsible investors will favour sectors and companies which lead the innovation required to make the transition happen.
And secondly, investors can embrace the net zero path within their equity and corporate bond allocations to ensure their portfolios are net zero aligned. In doing so, investors will have to reassess traditional asset allocation approaches, so as to reflect the fundamental shifts in the world’s economy caused by climate change. A bottom-up approach to asset allocation has been gaining traction, as the urgency among investors and regulators to address climate change gathers pace. This urgency is demonstrated by investor and asset manager coalitions, such as the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, as well as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. As part of these initiatives, financial institutions are setting science-based climate targets, with the ultimate goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
Novel strategies
For climate targets to be realised, the asset allocation decision can be implemented in different ways: using a passive climate-aligned benchmark, embracing a net zero active cross-asset allocation or using an active cross-asset strategy which incorporates specific targets for green investments.
Asset owners will inevitably face trade-offs when introducing climate considerations into their portfolios. The most prevalent one is a trade-off between portfolio diversification and the incorporation of climate targets. Our findings suggest that the short term financial cost of integrating net zero considerations into investors’ asset allocation is limited and should be offset over the long run as corporates gradually transition towards low-carbon models. Although our analysis shows that incorporating net zero targets can be costly in terms of tracking error (TE) in the near term, the TE differential should be mitigated as the economy becomes more aligned towards a 1.5°C trajectory over the long term.
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