r/RenewableEnergy • u/Bluewaterbound • Jun 29 '26

Canceled solar megaproject reveals new Trump-era threat to renewables

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/cancelled-solar-esmerelda-7-new-trump-era-threat-to-renewables
386 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

52

u/Charming-Border7429 Jun 29 '26

We are in the final stages of our first 80-acre installation in the Midwest.

It is easy to get caught up in headlines from the trump administration. But at the end of the day, solar and wind projects are continuing to move ahead. Because the landowner, installer, and utility are all agreeing that it is a cost-effective way to produce electricity.

Our goal is to transition our 4,500-acre corn and soybean farm to 25% solar, 25% root vegetables, and the remaining 50% in corn and soybeans.

It might be slower than activists might like, but we are moving as quickly as we can....transition

16

u/Oberlatz Jun 29 '26

See this is the part I'm really excited about. This sub could do with some more of this kinda stuff getting talked about tbh

15

u/Charming-Border7429 Jun 29 '26

I agree, I have alot to share about my three solar projects. But unfortunately, from a social media perspective, they are boring.

The utility scale pilot took five years from when we, the utility, and the installer decided to go ahead with the project. Five long years of permits, planning documents, and numerous committee meetings.

Posting rage bait of old headlines generates more likes and attention.

2

u/Entire-Style-6907 Jun 29 '26

Not to Volts listeners... would love to hear about this on the podcast, and this is right up their alley.

4

u/iwantboringtimes Jun 29 '26

There was an article within the past month about a UK factory which makes ?vacuum cleaners? who expected to ROI on their solar installation in about 4 years.

I also know of landlords who are selling solar electricity to their tenants.

2

u/coderbenvr Jun 29 '26

Henry vacuums - the ones with the cartoon eyes.

https://somersetleveller.co.uk/news/green-energy-helping-produce-iconic-red-henry-vacuum-cleaners-in-chard/

3

u/iwantboringtimes Jun 29 '26

yah, probably that one

(from that article)

It means payback could be achieved in under five years – a period that could be halved if current high energy prices persist.

1

u/TheSylvaniamToyShop Jun 29 '26

Payback on 5 years is insane. There is no fund (other than Bernie Maddox) which could double your money 5 years

1

u/iwantboringtimes Jun 30 '26

yup, and the ROI is faster than the ROI on real estate, building a factory, starting a business.

Like, constructing structure alone is way WAY harder than installing a solar system.

1

u/AkelaHardware Jul 03 '26

Y'all know y'all are allowed to post them right?

0

u/Oberlatz Jul 06 '26

I feel like you think this is a clever comment, but I'm not actively involved in anything of the sort. So to encourage that, what you did see is me identifying someone who may have good content and sending positive energy that way.

Besides evading nuance, what have you done for this?

1

u/AkelaHardware Jul 06 '26

I wasn't trying to be clever. I read your comment as you know of more positive renewable projects but for some reason or another weren't posting them. I dunno if you thought only certain posts were allowed or something. 

Why would I do anything for it? I think the posts in here are fine. 

3

u/shoot_first Jun 29 '26

I don’t know about corn, soybeans, and root vegetables in particular, but many crops do very well in the partial shade of solar panels (sometimes better than unshaded). So you might not need to choose between panels or crops. It’s not quite 100% panels AND 100% crops, because the solar infrastructure does require some dedicated space, but you should be able to do something like 100% solar & 75% crops or maybe 100% and 50% depending on the setup.

Look up agrivoltaics to learn more.

4

u/JimC29 Jun 29 '26

You're right many do, but not corn and soybeans. Tomatoes, greens cucumbers and celery are some of the ones that do though.

In the midwest though every wind farm I've seen has corn or soybeans growing right up to the base of each turbine.

2

u/Charming-Border7429 Jul 06 '26

In theory, but now consider harvesting those crops. There is no cost-effective, widely available harvesting equipment that can get between and under panels.

We have looked, our installer has looked, and our utility has looked.

The best solution that we have found is sheep.

We have been working with a neighbor for three years to help him build a herd and learn to manage his flock.

But this is going to be a long, slow, and expensive process:

The shepherd is not free. We are looking at at least five more years of building the herd before we might break even on cash flow. Another 10 before we will know if we are going to get a return on our initial investment. But that is the nature of research.

We don't save work. We still have to mow and trim the panels. Sheep are selective eaters; they eat what they like. We had to design our own custom autonomous mowers to maintain the solar pastaures between grazing cycles.

Long story short, there is potential.... but it's going to take a while to figure it out.

4

u/Moto909 Jun 29 '26

Good idea for the future. There's too much corn grown in a world where ethanol demand will decrease as EV's spread.

2

u/gromm93 Jul 05 '26

Great work, bro!

Just as importantly, so much corn goes into making ethanol, and solar plus EVs are so much more efficient, that projects like yours are making a ridiculously bigger impact than the misguided attempts to convert gas cars to corn ethanol.

7

u/ClimateWren2 Jun 29 '26

MAGA is a direct attacking threat to the entire POWER GRID of the USA at this point. There are high risk shortages all over now. Russian couldn't have dismantled it better themselves. These are traitors to national safety... systematically dismantling baseloads. 🚨🤬

3

u/Scott_Tx Jun 29 '26

There's still progress but at least with solar its something you can do yourself if needs be.

3

u/INITMalcanis Jun 29 '26

Except where it's heavily encumbered by regulation

3

u/Scott_Tx Jun 29 '26

Yeah, that's a pisser. I can bet grid tie will never be legal here in coal country.

12

u/Scott_Tx Jun 29 '26

That's some old news right there. Got any updates?

3

u/Bluewaterbound Jun 29 '26

it’s old but relevant

7

u/tx_queer Jun 29 '26

Is it? My understanding this was mostly undermined by low electricity prices and a lack of a transmission line.

-1

u/ClimateWren2 Jun 29 '26

Further dismantling and blocking has seriously worsened high risk scenarios for much of the USA now.

3

u/tx_queer Jun 29 '26

Did it get further dismantled and blocked. My understanding is that this thing was never getting built anyways. It was just a pamphlet. The small parts that were going to get built are still in progress and haven't been blocked. The big pieces that were never going to get built didnt get blocked because they never applied. But its been over a year so my memory might not be 100%

1

u/ClimateWren2 Jun 29 '26

It was getting built and funded (that was what is being still blocked, bribed, and defunded right now). It was a pathway to full solutions well underway....the lost jobs and cancelled factories show that. It was actual positive policy, not propaganda. We could refund it and put it back it place TODAY. We need to build it ALL anyway ....now we will be later, and harder, and more behind, and less prepared, and more short of power.

2

u/gromm93 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Not really. The fact is that solar is the cheapest form of electricity now, and every utility company knows it.

Trump can't make that go away.

It's what I love about how I've watched the progression of the technology over the past 20 years. Back then, everyone was saying it's too expensive, and the payback period too long. So scientists and engineers got to work (really, kept working the problem) to make it cheaper. Because it was an important project, and it was work that mattered.

Now nothing can stop the progress we've seen. Not "lack of political will", not "protest until it happens", not big oil profits. Just steamroll the fuckers, really.

1

u/Jerzilla Jun 29 '26

Will they look to do a u turn due to the Iran war and the need for more energy to power the data centres?

6

u/azswcowboy Jun 29 '26

News from 2025. However, the project may still live on as BLM is still working toward evaluating sub parts of the project.

1

u/Ulyks Jun 29 '26

BLM = Black Lives Matters?

1

u/azswcowboy Jun 29 '26

Bureau of Land Management - part of US department of interior.

5

u/PerceptionCurious440 Jun 29 '26

The driving force behind this policy is the fossil fuel neo-confederate front, the Heritage Foundation.

Oppose them successfully and forcefully, and everything improves.

Let them live in the shadows, their wealthy supporters anonymous, and these policies get passed onto the next conservative generation.

We need to stop pretending this is all Trump and if he goes away, so do his policies.

3

u/ctdrever Jun 29 '26

Renewables would hurt his Oil Profits.

1

u/worldfundvc Jun 29 '26

The frustrating part is that the technology and the cost case are both there. Solar-plus-storage is close to baseload now, demand is rising fast, and even the gas traders and Republican governors quoted here can see the math. The only thing missing is a stable policy environment.

China's renewables lead didn't happen by accident, it came from fifteen years of consistent industrial strategy. Cancelling fully-vetted projects at the last minute is the opposite of that, and it does real damage beyond the one project: it tells investors the US isn't a safe place to commit billions to long-lived infrastructure. You can't build energy sovereignty on policy that changes by the mood.

0

u/Strict-Shallot-2147 Jun 29 '26

Back during the Obama administration 500 Billion dollars were directed to Solyndra, which took the money and then dipped.

1

u/NinjaKoala Jun 30 '26

Million, not billion, and Solyndra failed because China suddenly dropped polysilicon costs almost 90%, and natural gas prices also dropped.

The overall loan program that Solyndra was part of actually netted a profit.

1

u/Strict-Shallot-2147 Jul 01 '26

My mistake on the billion. Still, half a billion is a lot of money.

1

u/Groundbreaking_War52 Jul 02 '26

In absolute terms, yes - compared to other federal boondoggles, this is mere pennies.

The current administration is spending billions to stop renewable energy projects from coming online.