US Democrats’ televised debate: solar, storage and cost of the climate crisis

September 6, 2019
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders proposed ‘StorageShot’, based on the Obama administration’s SunShot R&D initiative to bring down the cost of solar. Image: Flickr user Gage Skidmore.

On Wednesday, the ten Democratic presidential hopefuls discussed their environment and energy priorities during a televised town hall meeting in New York City.

Some candidates, like Cory Booker, specifically unveiled their climate change agendas ahead of the marathon seven-hour event.

But how do solar, energy storage, electricity and renewable promises compare across the top-polling candidates? Our sister site PV Tech has analysed their platforms to find out.

Joe Biden

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Poll frontrunner Joe Biden backs net-zero emissions by 2050, bolstered by US$1.7 trillion of federal funding over 10 years. In addition, his government intends to secure additional private sector, state and local investments to bring the total up to more than US$5 trillion.

The former vice-president wants to invest US$400 billion – or “twice the investment of the Apollo program which put a man on the moon, in today’s dollars” – in clean energy and climate research, and establish “targeted programs” that would develop renewables on federal lands and waters. Biden has a goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030.

In addition, a Biden presidency would establish a new government-wide clean energy export and climate investment initiative. The scheme would promote American clean energy exports and investments around the world and offer incentives for US firms that supply low-carbon solutions to the international market.

To read how all the candidates fared at the post-Jay Inslee-drops-out watershed event hosted by CNN, visit PV Tech for the full version of this story.

15 September 2026
San Diego, USA
You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.

Read Next

April 24, 2026
Developer-operator Plus Power and utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced a 20-year energy storage agreement (ESA) for the 200MW/800MWh Crawfish Creek battery energy storage system (BESS) in Alabama, US.
April 24, 2026
The rapid digitisation of energy infrastructure represents a big challenge, says Michael Hudson, cybersecurity strategy director at Sungrow North America.
April 23, 2026
Two US battery recycling companies, Redwood Materials, and Ascend Elements, are in less than optimal situations, with Redwood laying off 135 employees, and Ascend filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
April 22, 2026
Bobwhite Energy Storage, an affiliate of independent power producer (IPP) Tenaska has signed a long-term energy storage agreement (ESA) with utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a 225MW/900MWh project in East Tennessee, US.
Premium
April 22, 2026
We look at the potential of flow batteries for LDES and compare the leading providers’ offerings and trajectories.