Clean-power installations plunge, deepening Biden's green woes

US renewable-power installations fell to an almost 3-year low, as trade disputes, uncertain federal policy and supply-chain snarls complicate President Joe Biden's bid to green the nation's power system.

Clean-energy installations in the second quarter plummeted 55 per cent from the same period in 2021, according to a report on Tuesday (Jul 26) by the American Clean Power Association, a Washington-based industry group. It was the lowest quarter for clean-energy capacity additions since the third period of 2019. Solar deployments were down 53 per cent from the second quarter of last year, and onshore wind was 78 per cent lower.

Biden in his campaign pledged to pivot the country away from fossil fuels and accelerate clean-power installations. Instead, the production of oil and gas on federal lands and waters has surged to an all-time high while new wind and solar deployments have declined.

Nearly 21 gigawatts of US solar projects are delayed, the report found, chilled by an ongoing trade dispute. The Commerce Department is investigating allegations that Chinese companies are circumventing decade-old duties by assembling equipment in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

"The current business and policy environment is slowing the rate of deployment," Heather Zichal, ACP's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We have been warning about the storm of policy and economic headwinds the clean power industry is facing." BLOOMBERG