Amena Saiyid

1 week ago | ciphernews.com | Amena Saiyid

To say solar power is booming in Pakistan is an understatement. On a recent trip to my native country, I was overwhelmed by the omnipresence of solar energy in nearly every corner. Generous government policies are enabling cheap Chinese imports to flood the bazaars, turning solar energy into a commodity as accessible as mobile phones in Pakistan. Check out my coverage of how the growth of solar energy is transforming Pakistan and how that growth is built on imports of Chinese solar panels.

1 week ago | ciphernews.com | Amena Saiyid

KARACHI, Pakistan — Zahir Shah, a driver who works in a posh neighborhood here, was fed up. With nearly half his monthly salary going toward electricity bills, in April he used his savings to buy a solar panel and small battery to power his modest one-room home. It cut his bill in half. Shah is one of many Pakistanis turning to cheap Chinese solar panels to escape exorbitantly high electricity bills and the power outages common across the country’s fossil fuel-dominated grid.

1 month ago | ciphernews.com | Amena Saiyid

Global copper supplies will fall short of what the world needs to keep up with electricity demand growth over the next decade, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest outlook for critical minerals. Copper is a ubiquitous material in electronics of all types, including for clean energy. Demand for the metal is surging because it is a key component in electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies like wind turbines and solar panels and electricity transmission lines.

2 months ago | ciphernews.com | Amena Saiyid

More than half the cleantech projects announced across the United States in 2024 had begun construction or were operating at year’s end, according to a Cipher analysis. The projects moving into construction or operation represent nearly 28% of last year’s total announced investments into cleantech, which was valued at $240.26 billion. They were dominated by solar and battery storage projects.

2 months ago | ciphernews.com | Amena Saiyid

China, Canada and Mexico are the largest suppliers of steel and aluminum products to the United States, BloombergNEF’s latest analysis shows, a dependency President Donald Trump seeks to reverse through tariffs. Led by China, these countries account for nearly half of the imports of steel and aluminum products that include everything from cars and pipelines to soda cans and baking foils, said BNEF. Trump levied a 25% duty on imported steel and aluminum and their products in late March.