Day: September 10, 2024

US #solar manufacturing capacity has quadrupled thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act — Canary Media #ActOnClimate

Solar installation in the San Luis Valley. Photo credit: Western Resource Advocates

Click the link to read the article on the Canary Media website (Eric Wesoff). Here’s an excerpt:

September 9, 2024

In the two years since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed, domestic capacity for producing solar modules has nearly quadrupled, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight report released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. Generous incentives in the Biden administration’s landmark climate law have driven solar module manufacturing capacity to more than 31 gigawatts. That’s a stark change from August 2021, one year before the IRA became law, when the country could produce just 8.3 gigawatts. The U.S. installed 32.4 gigawatts of solar in 2023, a figure expected to climb even higher this year, meaning the country’s solar manufacturing capacity is now close to matching its pace of solar deployment. The massive expansion of home-grown solar manufacturing ensures that the U.S. is no longer dependent on the market’s hyperdominant supplier, China, for its solar modules. ​“Module” is the industry term for what’s more commonly known as a solar panel…

Most solar modules are constructed with photovoltaic cells based on polysilicon wafers. While the U.S. has roughly enough polysilicon capacity to meet its needs, it still has no operational facilities that can turn that raw material into the solar wafers and cells that do the physics magic act of transforming light into power. That could change early next year, when Hanwha Qcells starts manufacturing wafers and cells at its end-to-end factory in Cartersville, Georgia. In the meantime, China still makes most of the U.S.’s solar wafers…

Nevertheless, U.S. module capacity continues to expand faster than the rest of the domestic supply chain. Last quarter, production started up at a new Qcells factory in Georgia, a Sirius PV, facility in Georgia, and a Meyer Burger pant in Arizona. Since the IRA was signed, the big names in Chinese module manufacturing, along with more than 30 other companies, have announced plans to launch U.S. factories or grow their current capacity. The recent rush to produce solar panels in the U.S., spurred by the IRA’s cleantech manufacturing incentives, stands as proof that the carrots approach of the climate law is far more effective than the dead-end sticks approach of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods taken by the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.

Governor Polis and #Colorado DNR Announce New Funding for CO Strategic #Wildfire Action Program Wildfire Mitigation and Workforce Development Grants

Women in Wildland Fire cadets practice medical evacuation procedures, 2023. (USDA Forest Service photo by Julianne Nikirk)

Click the link to read the release on Governor Polis’ website (Chris Arend):

September 9, 2024

DENVER – Governor Polis and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the release of the 2024 Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program’s Workforce Development Grant. In this release, $4 million is available for conservation corps, including those associated with the Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) and Department of Corrections State Wildland Inmate Fire Teams (DOC SWIFT), to conduct wildfire mitigation projects and gain skills in forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction. The grant also funds mitigation and forestry training to educate and support the future workforce across the state. 

“Here in Colorado we are aggressively expanding fire prevention strategies that work, and that includes the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program. This funding will support mitigation efforts around the state that better protect homes and communities, and will also get Coloradans the skills needed to work in forestry,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

Colorado’s Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) was created after the devastating 2020 fire season by Governor Polis and the Colorado legislature as a collaborative effort between the Department of Natural Resources, Colorado State Forest Service, and the Division of Fire Prevention and Control to increase community resilience to wildfire. COSWAP addresses the urgent need to reduce wildfire risk in Colorado through workforce development and landscape-scale fuels reduction projects. Since the launch in 2021, COSWAP has funded 73 workforce development projects, totaling $10.3 million, and is now a permanent state program housed within DNR. 

“I am proud of the impact COSWAP has made on workforce development and wildfire risk reduction across the state in its three years of operation,” said Dan Gibbs, Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources. “This next $4 million will increase the number of communities that benefit from the hard work of conservation corps and SWIFT members, providing on the ground hand crews to help reduce the risk of wildfire on our communities and critical infrastructure.” 

This is the third round of COSWAP Workforce Development funding. The grant provides two types of awards: crew time and cash grants. Crew time is awarded to grantees partnering with a CYCA accredited conservation corps or a DOC SWIFT crew where COSWAP pays for the mitigation work directly in order to reduce administrative burden on the grantee. Grantees who wish to work with an independent conservation corps can request a cash grant to hire the corps themselves. Cash grants are also available to cover program expenses or to support wildfire mitigation workforce training, including but not limited to: S-212 wildland fire chainsaw, advanced tree felling, prescribed fire training, and training for prescription development and treatment implementation. 

“The COSWAP program has exceeded expectations in changing lives and protecting landscapes,” said Scott Segerstrom, Executive Director, Colorado Youth Corps Association. “We are developing the next diverse generation of wildland firefighters and professional natural resource managers while also ensuring the lives and property of Coloradans in the most fire-vulnerable areas are secure. This public-private partnership represents the best of government: channeling resources into effective, proven solutions that lift up all communities.” 

Grants are available on all land ownership types in Colorado, however projects are only eligible in the following locations: 

  • For independent and CYCA accredited conservation corps, projects must be located within identified Strategic Focus Areas, which include: Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, La Plata, and Teller counties, as well as the Rocky Mountain Restoration Initiative focal areas. 
  • The DOC SWIFT crews operate out of the Four Mile Correctional Facility in Canon City and can support projects within a three hour drive.
  • Wildfire mitigation trainings are available statewide. 

New this year, all projects or trainings awarded through the 2024 Workforce Development Grant must be completed in 2025. 

“The collaboration between the Department of Corrections’ State Wildland Inmate Fire Team (DOC SWIFT) and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources has significantly enhanced our state’s capacity to manage and mitigate wildfires. This initiative has not only strengthened our wildfire response but has also paved the way for meaningful post-incarceration employment opportunities, directly linking the skills developed on the fire team to future work prospects for those involved,” said Mitch Karstens, Deputy Director of Finance and Administration, Colorado Correctional Industries. 

To apply for Colorado’s Strategic Wildfire Action Program’s Workforce Development Grant, visit the program website. The Request for Applications and application materials are available for download. Please note the eligible applicants, project activities, and expenses as well as reporting requirements explained in the Request for Applications. The application period is open now through November 1st, 2024. To allow for site visits in early fall, all CYCA conservation corps applications received by October 9th will be considered in a preliminary review. The remaining CYCA related applications will be reviewed after the deadline of November 1st. All other applications will also be reviewed upon the November 1st deadline and notified of funding awards by the end of the year. 

Timeline: 

September 9: Application release 
October 9: First round reviews for CYCA accredited conservation corps projects 
November 1: Deadline to submit all applications 
December 31, 2024: Applicants notified of funding decisions 
December 31, 2025: Project or training completion deadline 

To learn more and to apply for a COSWAP Workforce Development Grant, please visit: https://dnr.colorado.gov/divisions/forestry/co-strategic-wildfire-action-program. 

Navajo Dam operations update September 10, 2024: Bumping up to 800 cfs #SanJuanRiver

The San Juan River at the hwy 64 bridge in Shiprock, NM. June 18, 2021. © Jason Houston

From email from Reclamation (Susan Novak Behery):

Due to falling flows in the critical habitat reach, the Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled an increase in the release from Navajo Dam from 600 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 800 cfs for Tuesday, September 10th, at 4:00 AM.

Releases are made for the authorized purposes of the Navajo Unit, and to attempt to maintain a target base flow through the endangered fish critical habitat reach of the San Juan River (Farmington to Lake Powell).  The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program recommends a target base flow of between 500 cfs and 1,000 cfs through the critical habitat area.  The target base flow is calculated as the weekly average of gaged flows throughout the critical habitat area from Farmington to Lake Powell.  

This scheduled release change is subject to changes in river flows and weather conditions.  If you have any questions, please contact Susan Behery (sbehery@usbr.gov or 970-385-6560), or visit Reclamation’s Navajo Dam website at https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/nvd.html