New Means, Same End

Good morning and happy Friday,

In this week’s headlines,?unions are making a comeback?and the?IEA’s latest report?showed 320 new gigawatts of generating capacity led by renewables. Meanwhile, solar industry advocates are fuming after Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo defended her department’s probe into solar part imports from Southeast Asia, stating that she had?no ability to weigh-in?on the investigation’s progress.?

All that to say, the same?politics that can speed up?the clean energy transition?can also slow it down.?

Read on for more.

New Means, Same End

While mass media has largely eliminated outright climate denial messaging, the oil and gas industry has gotten creative with its misinformation schemes. Case in point? The concept of “energy independence.” In short, it’s a false premise that the U.S. is dependent on foreign fuels and that with energy independence, the country can protect itself from higher gas prices.

This narrative is a new means to achieve the same ends of climate inaction. Media Matters did a?deep dive on how it’s propagating?through the online world and found some interesting–and concerning–takeaways:

• In an analysis of the top 100 Facebook posts containing climate or energy misinformation from September 21, 2021 through April 1, 2022, the posts with the most engagement earned 5.2 million interactions including likes, comments, and shares.?
• Out of the top posts, only 2 were fact-checked for misuse of the term “energy independence” and lack of context. 37 other posts made similarly false arguments, yet went unlabeled, earning a total of 1.5 million interactions.?
• 41 posts touched on the subject of high gas prices, arguing that “energy independence” justifies drilling for more oil and gas.

?? The Takeaway

Crafting lies, finding loopholes.?In the past year, Facebook has been repeatedly exposed for having incoherent, ineffective policies to combat misinformation. The rise of “energy independence” as a topic is considerably a drop in the bucket of the platform’s moderation shortcomings. However, this narrative is?almost more insidious?than previous anti-climate O&G messaging. It illustrates how in any economic or political context, the industry is relentless in finding ways to push its agenda for fossil fuel expansion. The more widespread the narrative becomes, the more likely it will be treated as a political issue rather than a fact-based one.

A Twofold Effect

While solar power is at the heart of the Biden Administration’s agenda for a carbon-free future, the industry’s progress has been smothered by the commerce probe. The White House, developers, and climate leaders alike have grown increasingly exasperated over the ongoing investigation, as?its detrimental effects?continue to unravel. Where things stand:

• Solar’s progress is on the line.?80% of U.S. solar firms say the investigation has jeopardized at least half the projects they planned to complete this year. 318 projects have already been canceled or delayed, totaling more than a third of development in the pipeline.?
• The pace of the probe is…not up to par.?For the sake of getting climate goals back on track, there’s mounting political pressure for Cabinet officials to step in. However, the rules guiding the probe are designed to minimize political interference. Though the Commerce Department is moving as quickly as it can, it can’t take any shortcuts.?
• Climate casualties are occurring.?An Indiana utility announced that because solar projects are delayed, it’s?extending the life of two coal plants. The solution is for the interim, but it is a discouraging move away from the state’s climate goals.

?? The Takeaway

The effects are escalating.?The commerce probe’s harmful impact on the clean energy transition is twofold: it is stalling solar projects and now, reinvigorating U.S. coal power. If states follow Indiana’s suit and return to oil and gas while they wait for the probe to be complete, the country will be back-tracking on its climate progress to date.

• Building Trades: ?rsted is working with U.S. unions on offshore construction.
• Specialized Solar: The DOE will spend $7 million on North Alaska for solar power despite it being dark 24/7 all winter.?
• Making Moves: In the first step for the $2.5B Transmission Funding Program, the DOE plans to buy capacity on proposed power lines.
• Growing Divide: A New York power line divided environmentalists. Here’s what it says about the larger climate fight.

• AES to Deliver?450 MW to Amazon?in California
• RWE Starts Up?200 MW Texas?Wind
• Meta Commissions?112 MW Michigan Wind?Project
• Empire Wind?Awards SOV Contract

Celebratory News

This week, we’ve got news from our own team to share. We are excited to announce that Hannah Watson is being promoted to Chief Operating Officer. For the past 4 years, Hannah has been the driving force behind our team’s engagement and organization, all while fostering an innovative, human-oriented company culture.

From coordinating video projects to finalizing campaign briefs to supporting each employee’s unique career path, Hannah’s passion and curiosity for the clean energy industry have been a solidifying factor in all of Bantam’s work. We look forward to seeing how she continues to evolve in this role as we grow our team.?