China News Service, June 8 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun)On June 6, local time, US President Biden announced a news: The United States has entered a state of emergency again.
This time, the problem is energy.
Americans are suddenly finding that there is not enough electricity capacity to keep up with consumers' demand for electricity, and energy supply may be disrupted.
Dignified as a superpower, it can enter a state of emergency at any time, can it afford to lose face?
So Biden stood up to make up for the United States. He believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to blame for the energy crisis in the United States...
US President Biden.
Image source: Visual China
[U.S. blames Putin for problems? 】
In a statement posted on the White House website, Biden said, "I hereby declare a state of emergency in response to the threat of power capacity or failure to meet anticipated consumer demand."
According to the "Russia Today" report, the US energy shortage, Biden pointed to at least two reasons: Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine led to disruption of the energy market; extreme weather events such as climate change intensified.
Biden's direction is too strong. If it is said that it is difficult for humans to control climate change, then when it comes to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it is to blatantly "dump" Putin, accusing it of man-made.
In the information published on the official website of the White House, the Biden administration believes that with a stronger "clean energy arsenal", "the United States can become a stronger partner for allies", and named: "Especially in the face of Putin's The war in Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This isn't the first time a U.S. president has targeted Putin.
After Putin ordered the Russian army to enter Ukraine, Biden once called Putin a "war criminal" and believed that he should "step down".
In short, whether it is the soaring fuel and food prices in the United States, the highest inflation in 40 years, or the looming global food crisis, Biden can always find reasons to say that it is Putin's fault, and he also coined the word "Putin's price increase" for this reason. .
[Biden's three-pronged axe announces special exemptions]
In order to alleviate the energy crisis, the Biden administration has resorted to three measures:
First, announcing "special exemptions" to extend the duty-free period for imports of specific solar cells and modules from the four Southeast Asian countries for two years.
The four countries are: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Second, Biden recently authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to encourage accelerated domestic production of clean energy technologies.
The Defense Production Act is designed to provide financial assistance to U.S. defense companies to expand production capacity to maintain price stability.
In 2020, Biden used the law to require U.S. meat processing plants to continue operating during the epidemic to ensure the supply of meat.
Statement from the White House on declaring an energy emergency and exempting solar module imports from Southeast Asia.
Image source: White House website
Among the things Biden authorized to expand production this time around are:
• Solar panel components
• Building insulation system
• heat pump
•Equipment for the manufacture and use of clean fuels such as electrolyzers and batteries;
• Grid infrastructure such as transformers
Third, the Biden-Harris administration decided to speed up the transition to renewable energy, proposing policies to boost the development of clean energy on May 31.
According to the policy, the United States will reduce the rent and cost of solar and wind energy projects on federal land by about 50%, which will greatly reduce costs; set up offices in five states, strengthen cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture, Coordinated by federal agencies such as the Department of Defense.
Having said that, the exempted, why are these countries?
According to the White House, solar energy is one of the fastest-growing new sources of power generation in the United States. In recent years, most solar modules have been imported. For example, about three-quarters of imported products in 2020 will come from Southeast Asian suppliers.
Data map: Solar power project in the Sunset District of San Francisco, California, USA.
In fact, the cause of the problem has to be found in oneself.
More than two months ago, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched an investigation into solar products imported from four Southeast Asian countries based on complaints from U.S. photovoltaic module maker Auxin Solar, which are accused of trying to circumvent U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
Due to concerns about high retroactive tariffs, exports of related products to the United States have been frozen, resulting in a sharp drop in market supply and skyrocketing spot prices.
Large-scale delays or cancellations of solar projects in the United States have quickly plunged the industry into a cold winter.
In the face of such a situation, Biden has to delay for two years, otherwise it may be as worried in the joint letter of 85 US congressmen, the US solar energy industry will lose more than 100,000 jobs, and by 2035, carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced. Or an increase of 364 million tons, completely worth the loss!
[The main reason for the lack of electricity in the United States has been found]
Both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the non-profit North American Electric Reliability Corporation have warned of power reliability problems.
It is estimated that in the summer of 2022, the western and midwestern regions of the United States may face the risk of power grid failure, causing losses to people's production and life.
On December 12, 2021, local time, due to a severe tornado, the state of Kentucky in the United States had no power supply at night and was plunged into darkness.
Concerns are not only about people's livelihood.
Biden pointed out that a strong and reliable power system is critical to national security and defense.
Although Biden puts the blame on Putin, in fact, the signs of the crisis have already emerged.
The American "Wall Street Journal" analyzed several reasons for the shortage of electricity:
First, there are too many decommissioning of traditional power sources and insufficient supply of new power sources.
Most states in the U.S. have announced timetables for the retirement of coal-fired power plants, but new clean energy generation capacity is not enough to fill the gap.
Second, the power grid facilities are seriously aging and have poor reliability.
According to the survey, 70% of the grid access and transmission and distribution facilities in the United States are aging, and some facilities are even 100 years old.
Such "old-fashioned" equipment, it is strange that there is no problem.
In February 2021, in Texas, the United States suffered a large-scale power outage due to a blizzard, and people warmed up in a furniture store.
Third, climate change leads to frequent occurrence of extreme weather, affecting energy supply.
For example, severe drought in the western and southern parts of the United States has affected hydropower generation; some areas were hit by tornadoes, and key power transmission lines were damaged; the historic power outage in Texas and other states in 2021 was caused by freezing cold wind turbines, and the disaster killed 246 people and damaged the economy. Losses amounted to nearly $200 billion.
At present, the high inflation in the United States cannot be eased, and people's wallets have shrunk greatly; oil prices are high, and motorists can't bear it; the "milk milk shortage" continues, parents are worried about finding milk; if they have to endure power outages in the hot summer, it will make people even more Hard to believe, this is what a "superpower" looks like.
And all this, is it really Putin's fault?
(Finish)