Jeanna Smialek and Ana Swanson of The New York Times write about how American protectionism has hurt green energy production in Norway.
- In the Norwegian town of Mo i Rana electric battery company Freyr made plans to build a factory that would employ thousands and provide and economic boon to the the struggling region.
- These plans were put on pause in 2022 when the U.S. passed a series of subsidies for domestic green energy production. Now Freyr is focusing on building a facility in Georgia.
- Green protectionism may be well intentioned, but it comes at the cost of halting innovation abroad and thus slowing down a global shift to lower carbon energy.
- To accelerate the deployment of clean power sources, governments should reduce regulatory barriers to production and embrace free trade.
“Local authorities had originally hoped that the factory could attract thousands of employees and new residents to their town of about 20,000 — an enticing promise for a region struggling with an aging population. Instead, Freyr is employing only about 110 people locally at its testing plant focused on technological development.”
Read the full article here.
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