Clean Energy Infrastructure

By: WindNewsToday Staff | Source: Reuters

California Clean energy companies across the state are calling on Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to act swiftly in response to sweeping federal tax policy changes under President Donald Trump that risk billions of dollars in renewable energy investments and prompt challenges to California’s clean energy goals.

In a letter that went out earlier this week, five major clean energy trade groups, including the California Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries Association, recently warned that Trump’s newly passed Republican-backed tax and spending law is creating significant roadblocks for continuing and forthcoming solar energy investments and wind energy projects in the Golden State. These organizations allege that California’s standing as a global leader on climate is at risk without state-level action.

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Federal Tax Credits for Renewables Risk Being Rolled Back

At the center of the anxiety is a provision in the new federal law that phases out important renewable energy tax credits, beginning after 2026, for projects that have not yet started construction. Projects that start after the deadline will need to be on-line by the end of 2027 to receive any remaining incentives.

Complicating the matter, Trump has ordered the U.S. Treasury Department to issue rules that would limit who can still qualify for these tax credits by which energy developers. This extra uncertainty makes it likely that dozens of utility-scale solar, wind and energy storage projects will now be delayed.

“These modifications introduce a new and grave risk of delay or outright cancellation for dozens of clean power projects,” the letter asserts. “We are pulling ahead and we are happy with the progress,” he said, “but without immediate reform at the state level, California’s clean energy investments — and the jobs that come with them — are at risk.”

California’s Clean Energy Goals

California has established some of the most ambitious climate and renewable energy targets in the world. The state recently said that more than two-thirds of its 2023 retail electricity sales qualified as coming from renewable and zero carbon-emitting sources, and all across onlookers struggle to cope with the speed at which it is leading the global energy transition.

Reversing federal support for California clean energy is in stark contrast to the state’s climate vision and clean energy policy agenda, including the mandate for 100% clean electricity by 2045. Many of those developers have already invested heavily in California’s energy infrastructure, from solar farms to wind energy projects to battery storage.

Trade Groups Urge California to Put It in a Higher Gear

In their letter, the five trade groups, which are the Large-scale Solar Association, California Energy Storage Alliance and American Clean Power Association (California chapter) called on the state to do four things:

Speed up approval for environmental permits and harmonies regulation for renewable energy schemes.

Expand clean energy purchasing, especially from utility-scale wind and solar developers.

Permit clean energy projects on farmland, which is underutilized for utility scale energy development.

Strengthen investment in grid infrastructure for managing higher levels of renewable energy tax credits and maintaining energy reliability.

If California can expedite these reforms, the groups say, the state can insulate itself from the consequences of federal rollbacks and maintain renewable energy momentum.

Wind Power in Texas Is Another Story entirely

"Wind energy turbines operating in rural California, threatened by federal tax policy changes"

While California is in limbo, in a tale of stark contrast, here’s what is happening in Texas wind energy projects policy. We have even seen Republican-majority states, such as Texas, achieve success developing the nations largest wind energy industry, not by government mandate but by offering market-based incentives and less onerous permitting processes that attract investment in renewable infrastructure.

Wind power’s growth in Texas is an example of how bipartisan support — or, at least, pragmatic policy — can help speed up the growth of clean energy. With federal support declining, California may soon have to turn to the Texas model of wind energy if the state wants to maintain its energy transition goals.

Jobs, Reliability and Clean Power Are at Stake

Not only does the rollback represent a major threat to renewable energy developers, but it threatens thousands of the clean energy jobs that exist. If projects get put on hold or canceled, the economic effect could reverberate across jobs in construction, operations, engineering and maintenance.

And the uncertainty threatens grid reliability, particularly as California confronts increasing power demands and the need to replace retiring fossil fuel plants with clean options. The rollback would imperil jobs, stability and progress toward California’s clean energy goals, according to the letter.

The state especially benefits from the clean energy sector. In 2023 alone, solar and wind projects led to the creation of thousands of high-wage jobs and investment in rural towns. This loss of momentum could have far-reaching consequences for both climate goals and long-term economic resilience.

California Clean Energy Developers Raise Alarms as Federal Support Fades

This is a pivotal moment in the energy transition in the United States. The Biden administration had sought to reduce the shift toward clean energy by broadening tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) but the rollback by Trump would negate much of the push.

The decision to trump clean energy rollback the federal energy tax credit is viewed by many in the industry as a big step in the wrong direction. Developers worry the uncertainty of future regulatory environments could scare off investment, particularly in long-lead-time projects such as offshore wind or grid-scale storage.

Clean energy backers are imploring more Democratic states to draw up backup plans akin to what California wants to do in order to shield renewable energy development from swinging federal policy.

Conclusion: It Takes State Action to Protect Clean Energy Gains

As California goes forward, the decision is unmistakable: without urgent state action, the rollbacks in federal support for clean energy could stall crucial projects, shake investor confidence in the market and set back the state’s progress toward an energy future free from carbon.

The industry leaders’ letter sends a strong signal: Federal energy policy may be on its back foot, but states like California still have the tools in hand to protect and advance their visions of a clean power future — if they use them boldly.

The office of Gov. Newsom has not responded publicly. Yet the pressure to answer that question is getting louder, with billions of dollars in California clean energy investments on the line and California’s climate leadership in the balance.

📖 Source:

Reuters – https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/solar-wind-groups-seek-california-aid-after-trump-subsidy-cuts-2025-07-16/

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China renewable energy news is great, with wind power boom in January-May enough to power entire countries like Indonesia or Turkey

BEIJING — June 2025

A charming example is set by china renewable energy record, China added 46 gigawatts (GW) of wind power and 198 gigawatts of solar power between January and May 2025, breaking China’s previous records and cementing its leadership in the global clean energy race. The Guardian says, the added capacity of wind and solar power during the five-month period in 2025 is enough to produce as much electricity as Indonesia or Turkey, according to Lori Mylivirta analysis, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

In May alone, China solar power growth 93 gigawatts of installation, the equivalent China solar panels installed per second about 100, and wind power capacity added 26 gigawatts, the size of about 5,300 turbines. These installations could power countries like Poland, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates, depending on operating conditions and efficiency.

“We thought China’s rush to install solar and wind power was going to be absurd, but wow,” Mylivirta commented on social media.

China renewable energy record amid global climate tensions

The latest development comes amid ongoing informal climate talks between Chinese officials and former US negotiators in Beijing. Diplomatic relations over climate action have been strained since former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, accusing China of rampant pollution while protecting domestic industry.

Despite being the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, China is also by far the largest producer, installer and exporter of clean energy technology. China suppresses 1000 GW solar capacity, half of the total global production, according to government data and third-party trackers.

China green energy leadership was happen by Xi Jinping climate strategy. Chinese President Xi Jinping renewable energy speech has increasingly tied the country’s climate goals to national industrial policy, framing clean energy expansion as essential to rejuvenating the economy.

China’s role in the global climate talks now is not just about how much wind power China adds in 2025, but also about how it is winning the global clean energy race. “In the past five years, China has built the world’s largest and most complete new energy industrial chain,” Xi said at a conference in April.

The term “new energy” refers not only to wind and solar power, but also to battery storage, EV infrastructure and grid-scale technology.

This development has been accompanied by an explosive growth in supply chains and exports. But it has also put the financial squeeze on the whole of China’s solar industry. According to Bloomberg, the five largest Chinese solar companies reported a combined loss of more than 8 billion yuan in Q1 of 2025.

Speaking at a recent industry conference, Yang Liyou, general manager of Jinneng Technology, said the existing pricing and production model was a“ death cycle,” suggesting hyper-competition and wafer-thin margins could endanger the stability of China’s place as the world’s clean energy manufacturing kingpin.

World Impact and Climate Implications

China’s breathtaking build-out of wind and solar installations isn’t just actively reshaping its own energy landscape — it’s sending ripples out across global energy markets, upending international geopolitical strategies and, with it, the future of the clean energy transition.

Economically, sprawling production in China has pushed global prices for solar panels and wind components to historic lows. China solar and wind growth is good for developing countries with demand for affordable, clean energy, but it is also putting pressure on Western manufacturers, some of whom are pushing for trade barriers and subsidies to shield their domestic clean energy industries.

Politically, these numbers give China the ability to leverage climate diplomacy, particularly at a time when the United States and the E.U. are pressing for steeper emissions cuts even as they struggle with their own internal policy divisions. Now that China’s momentum in clean energy has become tightly linked to its economic strategy, the country will have an upper hand in future climate talks — especially since some Western powers are rethinking their dependence on Chinese-made technologies.

China clean energy expansion surge also speaks to a bigger pattern: The global center of gravity for energy innovation is shifting east. If the trajectory holds, China will be not only the largest emitter or the largest builder of clean energy, but it will also become the yardstick by which we measure whether, in the next generation of energy infrastructure, we will have a livable planet or not.

As China continues to pull ahead with the deployment of clean power, the geopolitics and economics of energy transition are changing. The sheer magnitude of the country’s manufacturing and installation has driven down worldwide prices but has also spawned concerns about sustainability, labor practices and market fairness.

Meanwhile, nations like the U.S. and those in the EU are re-evaluating trade and subsidy strategies to safeguard domestic clean energy industries, while attempting to achieve net zero goals.

As new solar and wind capacity is added at record-breaking rates — and political rhetoric is tightly intertwined with industrial strategy — China is, for once, not just competing in the race, Ms. Hsu said. It’s setting the pace.

China solar and wind power growth: Jan–May 2025

🌬️ 46 GW of wind power added

☀️ 198 gigawatts of solar power added

⚡ May only: 93 GW solar, 26 GW wind

🏆 Total installed solar: 1,000+ GW

📈 Enough new capacity to power: Poland, Sweden, Indonesia, Turkey

So that, China renewable energy record in 2025 represent a turning point for how the world uses energy. And with 46 GW of wind and 198 GW of solar deployed in only the first five months of the year, the country isn’t just outpacing its own climate targets, or lucrative wind and solar installation in china but redefining the global clean energy market.

Challenges endure — from economic hardship facing domestic producers to mounting geopolitical suspicion — but China’s sheer scale, speed and strategic linking of clean energy with economic policy have made it an unparallelled force in the field. As the world once again contemplates the urgent need for climate action and for secure energy, China’s market moves are making clear that the race to dominate the renewable energy is no longer some nod to a green future — it’s on.

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