President Trump is poised to preside over a renewable energy boom. Yes, really.
The administration and its allies in Congress have rolled back clean energy tax credits and thrown up roadblocks to renewable energy projects — efforts that, in the long run, will mean fewer wind and solar farms will be built than otherwise would have.
But any meaningful slowdown in the growth of renewable energy and battery storage in the United States is likely to take a few years. That is because companies are racing to install solar panels, wind turbines and batteries the size of shipping containers before federal tax credits expire or become harder to claim.
The pipeline is so big that analysts widely expect the United States to add record — or near-record — amounts of renewable energy and batteries through 2027. BloombergNEF, a research firm, recently raised its forecast for how much wind, solar and batteries the country would add next year by more than 10 percent.
“There’s this huge hurry-up that is taking place,” said Thomas Byrne, chief executive of New York-based CleanCapital, which develops, owns and operates solar and battery storage projects.
Wind and solar projects must be under construction by July to be eligible for federal tax credits that Congress voted this summer to eliminate, years earlier than previously required. (Battery installations have longer to get started.)
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Renewable Energy Is Booming Despite Trump’s Efforts to Slow It appeared first on New York Times.
