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

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

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

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.

Read Next

Premium
October 8, 2025
Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) has negotiated the terms of a solar and BESS power purchase agreement (PPA) with Boston, Massachusetts-based developer Longroad Energy.
October 8, 2025
US utility Xcel Energy has proposed to build out a 200MW battery storage network across Minnesota, US.
October 7, 2025
BSW-Solar has called on the German government to impose a target of 100GWh of cumulative operational BESS by 2030.
Premium
October 7, 2025
Energy-Storage.news Premium hears from a representative from Honeywell and Alejandro Schnakofsky, CTO of Prevalon, on fire safety in the battery energy storage system (BESS) industry.
October 7, 2025
Utility CPS Energy and IPP Eolian have begun operating Padua 1, a 50MW/100MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located in Bexar County, Texas, US.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter