Why Biden Just Declared Heat Pumps and Solar Panels Essential to National Defense
An environmental engineering professor assesses their place in fighting the climate crisis.
DANIEL COHAN,THE CONVERSATION | JUNE 10, 2022 10:23 AM ET
Solar panels, heat pumps and hydrogen are all building blocks of a clean energy economy. But are they truly “essential to the national defense”?
President Joe Biden proclaimed that they are in early June when he authorized using the Defense Production Act to ramp up their production in the U.S., along with insulation and power grid components.
As an environmental engineering professor, I agree that these technologies are essential to mitigating our risks from climate change and overreliance on fossil fuels. However, efforts to expand production capabilities must be accompanied by policies to stimulate demand if Biden hopes to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
The United States enacted the Defense Production Act of 1950 at the start of the Korean War to secure materials deemed essential to national defense. Presidents soon recognized that essential materials extend far beyond weapons and ammunition. They have invoked the act to secure domestic supplies of everything from communications equipment to medical resources and baby formula.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2022/06/why-biden-just-declared-heat-pumps-and-solar-panels-essential-national-defense/368030/
