How To Keep Solar Workers Safe In Extreme Heat

Published

4 years ago

September 2, 2021

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Originally published by Union of Concerned Scientists, The Equation.
By Adenike Adeyeye

Climate change-induced heat waves have been brutal across the country this summer, and perhaps paradoxically, the workers who are helping us avoid the worst of climate change are particularly at risk in this heat. Clean energy workers who are installing solar panels work outdoors and face high risk of heat stress when temperatures climb. At the same time, many of these workers are not a part of any union and do not have bargaining power to make sure they receive the workplace protections they deserve by law. Let’s take a look at how greater workplace protections, like unionization, would help these workers stay safe in extreme heat.

Outdoor solar workers make up the majority of a growing industry

The solar industry is growing across the board, given solar energy is one of the key tools in our race to blunt the effects of climate change. In 2020, 231,474 people were employed in the solar industry, and just 10% of those workers were part of a union. (This is similar to the economy-wide union rate: in 2019, 10.3% of all workers were union members.) The industry is projected to employ 400,000 workers by 2030. The Biden administration has prioritized clean energy jobs to revitalize a sluggish economy while mitigating the effects of climate change, and the Solar Foundation has estimated that reaching the goals of the Biden Administration’s clean energy standard would require 900,000 solar workers by 2035.

To narrow our focus down to outdoor workers, let’s look at the stats for workers in installation or construction related jobs in the solar industry. They make up 67% of all workers in the industry, or an estimated 154,610 jobs in 2020, and 11.7% of them were members of a union. If the industry grows to 900,000 workers by 2035 as the Solar Foundation estimates, that means more than 600,000 people in the solar industry will be working outdoors. If the proportion of unionized workers stays the same, approximately 70,500 outdoor workers will be unionized and over 530,000 outdoor workers will not be unionized.

While this blog assumes that installation and construction jobs are outdoors, they are not the only jobs that might take place outside. Some solar marketing jobs require workers to go door to door to sell homeowners on installing rooftop solar. There were 25,663 sales and distribution workers in 2020, but it is unclear what proportion of those people worked outdoors. Those door-to-door workers would also benefit from heat safety protections. Similarly, outdoor workers in other clean energy industries would also benefit from stronger workplace protections.

What outdoor heat protections do solar workers need?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, lists extreme heat as one of the green job hazards that solar workers experience. As summer weather gets more and more extreme in the West and across the country, employers need to provide outdoor workers with schedule changes, personal protective equipment, hydration, and breaks necessary to keep them healthy. And shockingly, there are no federal laws requiring employers to offer these protections to workers. OSHA recommends, but does not require, limiting sun exposure during the most intense periods for UV radiation — from 10 am to 4pm — as well as working in the shade, taking frequent short breaks, and staying hydrated by drinking water frequently. Public health and workplace safety officials also recommend employers to give workers time to adjust to rising temperatures. This process is called acclimatization and it allows workers to work shorter or less intense shifts while their bodies get used to the heat.

Following the OSHA guidelines could be easier said than done for some outdoor solar workers, depending on their employers. To comply with these guidelines, employers will need to allow their employees to take breaks often. They will need to shift the workday to minimize the amount of work happening at the hottest times of day. They may need additional labor while workers acclimatize — the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that new workers should have no more than 20% exposure to heat (relative to a normal workday) on their first day at work, and the exposure can increase no more than 20% per day after that.

Employers’ responsibilities to keep the work environment safe grow as the heat index rises. When the heat index ranges from 103 to 115 degrees, OSHA categorizes the risk level as high and calls for employers to provide water, encourage employees to drink water frequently, have medical personnel on site or available within 3-4 minutes, and actively enforce frequent breaks to prevent heat stress. When the heat index is above 115 degrees, the OSHA risk level rises to “very high to extreme” and employers are supposed to reschedule any nonessential work to a cooler day. These precautions are necessary to protect workers’ health but also come at a cost to the employer and are not federally mandated. Safeguards are needed to make sure employers comply with their duty to protect workers, particularly when temperatures rise. There is a bill before Congress now, the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Prevention Act, that would require OSHA to adopt true, enforceable heat protection standards — passage of this bill would go a long way toward protecting outdoor workers.

Adequate protection for solar workers is no small matter: heat stress is a dangerous, even deadly, job hazard for outdoor workers. There are dozens of fatalities every year due to heat stress or heat stroke from working in extreme heat, according to OSHA. Construction workers, like those who work to install solar panels, account for a significant portion of heat-related fatalities, as the infographic below shows.

Unionization and prevailing wage standards create safer workplaces

One way to protect workers across the board is unionization. Unions advocate on behalf of workers to ensure safe workplaces as well as fair compensation and benefits. Almost 90% of solar workers, however, are not unionized, as described above. Making unionization more widespread would require new approaches, such as incentives for project developers or policy changes like the PRO Act which was passed in the US House of Representatives in March.

Increased unionization in the solar industry could improve the quality of solar industry jobs in a variety of ways. Unionizing provides workers with bargaining power. That often translates to more accountability for employers, which can lead to safer workplaces. Say, for example, it’s a blisteringly hot day and the heat index is 105 degrees. According to OSHA, the supervisor at a job site installing solar panels should be actively encouraging workers to take frequent breaks when the heat index is that high. But these breaks are only mandated by law in a handful of states. And people aren’t perfect: even in states where breaks are required, the supervisor on that day may not be telling workers to take frequent breaks. Who is more likely to speak up and ask for the break they are legally entitled to? A worker who has the protection of a union or a worker who feels as if they could be replaced or let go?

In addition to unionization, there are other policies that can be used to improve job quality and safety for outdoor clean energy workers. A UC Berkeley report found that smaller scale, residential solar projects offer lower wages and fewer paths for career advancement than large-scale solar projects. The difference between the smaller scale and larger scale projects is that the larger scale projects are often required to use project labor agreements (PLAs). State law can direct or require PLAs for large-scale clean energy projects. PLAs are negotiated to provide livable wages, benefits, and safer workspaces. Like PLAs, community workforce agreements (CWAs) can help ensure that workers receive high quality, safe jobs and that employers prioritize local hiring and hiring from disadvantaged communities. Workers benefit when large scale solar projects use PLAs and CWAs, and smaller scale projects that typically are not held to PLAs and CWAs might be able to produce higher quality jobs by adopting similar standards for livable wages and benefits.

Lastly, prevailing wage standards also help empower workers and create higher quality jobs. Prevailing wage “establishes a wage floor for each occupation that all contractors on a project must pay at or above — typically set to reflect the average or market average for a given type of work in a given area.” Prevailing wage standards may also “require contributions to workers’ benefits such as healthcare, paid time off, retirement funds, and apprenticeship training.” Research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center has found that prevailing wage has minimal impacts on project cost while offering significant benefits via improved worksite productivity. While higher pay and better benefits is not directly tied to workplace safety, research suggests that states with prevailing wage laws report fewer construction injuries than those without prevailing wage laws. PLAs, CWAs, and prevailing wage agreements have helped make jobs safer and more lucrative for workers.

The solar industry is a critical sector in transitioning our economy from its reliance on fossil fuels to clean energy. The industry should serve as a model in how it protects its workers, especially as its ranks continue to grow and our summers get hotter and hotter. Policies designed to give outdoor workers the job protections they deserve should become the norm, rather than the exception, in the solar industry.

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Chevy Blazer SS EV first drive, over 600hp and 300 miles of range!

Published

3 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Chevy Blazer SS EV first drive, over 600hp and 300 miles of range!

Chevy flew us down to Charlotte for some track and road time with the Chevy Blazer SS EV. The 600+ horsepower beast barely hidden beneath the skin of Chevy’s mid-sized SUV is also the quickest ‘SS’ monikered vehicle the company has ever produced. The Blazer SS also has a ton of extras like a standard, robust SuperCruise, which competes favorably with the Performance line from domestic competitors like Tesla’s Model Y and Ford’s Mustang Mach-e GT.

As one could imagine, a trip to Charlotte to test the Chevy Blazer SS should begin at the track. There, we got to experience a few laps at the raceway, along with some 3.4-second wide-open throttle 0-60 times, but not the 11.8-second quarter mile at 115mph that Chevy advertises. I have no doubt that the SS can handle that, especially with the right tires.

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Lime officially launches new e-bike and electric moped into broader sharing fleets

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4 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Lime officially launches new e-bike and electric moped into broader sharing fleets

Lime, a global leader in shared electric micromobility, is significantly expanding its fleet this spring with the launch of two new vehicles – the LimeBike and LimeGlider.

After a successful series of pilot programs in 2024, Lime announced plans to roll out more than 10,000 of these new electric vehicles across multiple cities in Europe and North America in the coming months.

The introduction of the LimeBike and LimeGlider mark a key step forward for Lime as the company aims to attract a wider range of riders to shared micromobility. Both vehicles feature significant design innovations informed by extensive rider feedback, city partner consultations, and performance data gathered from Lime’s extensive operational experience.

The LimeBike marks the return of the Lime brand’s original name in a refreshed and modern form. Designed specifically to enhance rider accessibility and comfort, the LimeBike features an approachable step-through frame making it easier to mount and dismount.

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Additionally, it has a unique ergonomic clamp design allowing riders to easily adjust seat height. This feature was developed directly from rider feedback, aiming to make the bike more inclusive for riders of different heights and abilities.

Smaller 20-inch wheels give the LimeBike improved handling and a compact feel, making it more maneuverable in dense urban settings.

Unlike European markets, the LimeBike is offered in US markets will also include a hand throttle, allowing riders the flexibility to choose between traditional pedal-assisted cycling and throttle-only operation. This flexibility caters to varying rider preferences and physical abilities, broadening the appeal of the bike in a market where most e-bike riders tend to prefer throttle operation.

The LimeGlider, meanwhile, introduces a completely new vehicle type to Lime’s fleet – a seated, pedal-less electric vehicle designed for effortless riding. Combining the comfort of a seated ride with the simplicity of a scooter, the LimeGlider aims to appeal especially to riders who prefer a less physically demanding ride experience or who may have limitations making traditional scooters challenging.

Designed with rider comfort as a priority, the LimeGlider includes footrests instead of pedals, a large padded moped-style seat positioned lower to the ground to lower the center of gravity, and intuitive ergonomic hand grips to reduce rider fatigue. The green and black colorway sets it apart somewhat from Lime’s usual green and white fleet, further underscoring its new role as a bridge between scooters and bicycles in terms of ride experience.

Both the LimeBike and LimeGlider incorporate several shared improvements aimed at boosting convenience and safety. Wider front baskets offer increased utility for everyday errands and ergonomic phone holders provide secure and accessible navigation for riders. Each vehicle is equipped with 2.5-inch tires optimized for reliable traction in varying conditions.

From the tech side, the LimeBike and LimeGlider represent Lime’s most advanced offerings yet. Lime says that improved location accuracy within the vehicles’ onboard systems ensures quicker identification and responsiveness in recognizing designated parking zones, restricted access areas, and low-speed zones, crucial for compliance with city regulations and enhancing rider safety.

Sustainability has also been central to the design philosophy behind Lime’s latest vehicles. Utilizing modular construction methods, the LimeBike and LimeGlider are among the most repairable vehicles Lime has produced to date. Modular components mean quicker, easier repairs, minimizing downtime and extending vehicle lifespan. Both vehicles share Lime’s proprietary swappable battery technology, common across the company’s Gen4 fleet, streamlining operations and reducing environmental impacts by prolonging battery life and optimizing energy usage.

The pilot tests conducted in 2024 underscored the strong market potential for both vehicles. Lime reported notably positive rider responses, with high rates of repeat usage and longer ride durations, particularly with the LimeGlider. For instance, during the pilot in Seattle and Zurich, riders frequently embarked on journeys exceeding 5 kilometers and averaging over 15 minutes per trip, surpassing the usage patterns of Lime’s existing Gen4 electric bikes.

Building upon these successful pilots, Lime’s spring launch targets several strategically selected cities. The LimeBike is set to roll out in Turin, Italy; Aarhus, Denmark; Nice, France; and Nyon, Switzerland, expanding into areas with established cycling cultures and infrastructure. The LimeGlider debuts in major U.S. cities including Denver, Austin, and San Francisco, markets that Lime identifies as primed for growth in seated, scooter-like micromobility solutions. Both vehicles will also see wider availability in cities like Atlanta, Seattle, and Zurich, where initial pilots indicated strong rider enthusiasm.

Lime’s President Joe Kraus expressed optimism about the new vehicles, highlighting their appeal during early trials: “During our initial pilots last year, it was clear that the LimeBike and LimeGlider earned the love of our riders, with people returning to them frequently for local travel,” Kraus explained. “We’re so excited to take our next step with these vehicles and bring them to more cities this spring.”

The introduction of these vehicles aligns closely with urban policy goals aimed at reducing car dependency and enhancing accessibility for a diverse range of city residents. Lime specifically designed the LimeBike and LimeGlider to meet the needs of traditionally underrepresented micromobility users, such as older riders and women. Enhanced vehicle stability, ease of use, and adjustable features aim to reduce common barriers to micromobility adoption among these groups.

Since its inception in 2017, Lime riders have collectively completed over 750 million rides, covering more than 900 million miles (over 1.5 billion kilometers). This significant uptake of micromobility solutions has translated into meaningful environmental benefits, replacing an estimated 180 million car trips, thereby preventing over 77 million kilograms of CO2 emissions and saving more than 33 million liters of gasoline.

With the launch of the LimeBike and LimeGlider, Lime is poised to significantly build upon these achievements, further shifting urban transportation patterns toward sustainable, inclusive, and efficient micromobility.

Electrek’s Take

I think that Lime’s new LimeBike and LimeGlider are smart additions that feel well-positioned for today’s micromobility market. It’s also great to see Lime include a throttle on the LimeBike for the North American market, where so many riders prefer to ride without pedaling. For casual users and tourists especially, a throttle can make all the difference between choosing to hop on a shared e-bike or not.

Lime clearly listened to rider feedback, and these new models could help pull even more people into using micromobility instead of cars. Let’s just hope they can keep it up.

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Tesla Q1 2025 earnings preview: it’s going to be a messy one

Published

4 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Tesla Q1 2025 earnings preview: it's going to be a messy one

Tesla (TSLA) will release its Q1 2025 financial results today, Tuesday, April. 22, after the markets close. As usual, a conference call and Q&A with Tesla’s management are scheduled after the results.

Here, we’ll look at what the street and retail investors expect for the quarterly results.

Tesla Q1 2025 deliveries and energy deployment

CEO Elon Musk and his loyal shareholders often claim that Tesla is now an AI/Robotics company, but the truth is that the company’s automotive business still drives the vast majority of its financial performance.

Tesla’s revenue remains tied mainly to the number of vehicles it delivers.

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Earlier this month, Tesla disclosed its Q1 2025 vehicle production and deliveries:

	Production	Deliveries	Subject to operating lease accounting
Model 3/Y	345,454	323,800	4%
Other Models	17,161	12,881	7%
Total	362,615	336,681	4%

It was significantly below expectations and approximately 50,000 units short of what Tesla delivered in Q1 2024.

Analysts have been adjusting their revenue and earnings expectations accordingly since the disclosure a few weeks ago.

Now, Tesla’s energy storage business is also starting to make a meaningful contribution to its financial performance. The company disclosed having deployed 10.4 GWh of energy storage products during Q1 2025.

Tesla no longer discloses solar deployment information.

Tesla Q1 2025 revenue

For revenue, analysts generally have a pretty good idea of what to expect, thanks to the delivery numbers and now the energy storage deployment data.

However, many were taken by surprise by how low Tesla’s deliveries were this quarter and the automaker offered a lot of discounts, which will affect the average sale price that analysts are now trying to figure out.

The Wall Street consensus for this quarter is $21.345 billion, and Estimize, the financial estimate crowdsourcing website, predicts a slightly lower revenue of $21.254 billion.

Here are the predictions for Tesla’s revenue over the past two years, with Estimize predictions in blue, Wall Street consensus in gray, and actual results are in green:

This would be about a $1 billion lower than the same period last year – meaning that analysts don’t expect Tesla’s increased energy storage deployment to compensate for the lower vehicle deliveries.

Tesla Q1 2025 earnings

Tesla claims to consistently strive for marginal profitability every quarter, as it invests the majority of its funds in growth, but its growth has disappeared from its automotive business over the last year, and its gross margin is going in the same direction.

Analysts are trying to estimate Tesla’s gross margin with the lower deliveries to figure out its actual earnings per share.

For Q1 2025, the Wall Street consensus is a gain of $0.41 per share and Estimize’s crowdsourced prediction is a little lower at $0.40.

Here are the earnings per share over the last two years, where Estimize predictions are in blue, Wall Street consensus is in gray, and actual results are in green:

If the estimates are accurate, Tesla’s earnings per share would be down from $0.45 during the same period last year.

There are several things that Tesla could do here that could surprise investors with a significant earnings beat. Tesla could have recognized revenue from the launch of FSD in China, even though the launch was brief and 95% of the value of the FSD package is unsupervised self-driving, which Tesla has yet to deliver.

Tesla could have also sold more emission credits. As of the end of last quarter, Tesla was still sitting on a good amount, and while it claims to sell them when the price makes the most sense, it is quite an opaque market and Tesla could at any time decide to sell them just to save itself from a bad quarter.

Other expectations for the TSLA shareholder’s letter, analyst call, and special ‘company update’

As we reported yesterday, this is likely going to be a messy earnings report. Musk has been on a propaganda spree lately after Tesla suffered immense brand damage and declining stock price due to his involvement in politics.

Now, he has called for a “live company update” at the same time as the release of Tesla’s financial results, which appears to be a desperate move at damage control amid a tough quarter for the company.

I expect that he will try to paint a rosy picture of Tesla’s self-driving and robot efforts to come save the company amid declining EV sales.

As I previously reported, I wouldn’t be surprised if he also pushes for Tesla to invest in his xAI startup or proposes a merger between the companies.

Tesla will also take questions from retail shareholders based on the most popular ones on Say. Here are the top 5 questions and my thoughts on them:

Is Tesla still on track for releasing “more affordable models” this year? Or will you be focusing on simplified versions to enhance affordability, similar to the RWD Cybertruck?
- We have had the answer to that question for about a year now, but Tesla shareholders don’t believe it because Elon claimed that Reuters’ original report that Tesla canceled its more affordable EV was “wrong” when it fact it wasn’t. As we recently reported, Musk killed the “$25,000 Tesla” in favor of the Robotaxi and building new stripped-down versions of Model Y and Model 3.
When will FSD unsupervised be available for personal use on personally-owned cars?
- Lol – we are just going to get Elon’s “best guess”, which has been wrong every time for the last decade.
How is Tesla positioning itself to flexibly adapt to global economic risks in the form of tariffs, political biases, etc.?
- Musk is going to say “you go woke, you go broke” and that his pathetic quest to “kill the woke mind virus” will ultimately be good for Tesla because the world will be rid of this destructive virus. As for the global economic risks, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tesla announces more layoffs soon.
Robotaxi still on track for this year?
- It could very well be. We have already reported in detail about how Tesla’s “robotaxi” launch in Austin, planned for June, is actually a “moving of the goal” and it has very little to do with Tesla’s long-stated promise of delivering unsupervised self-driving in a consumer vehicle, as asked in the second question.
Did Tesla experience any meaningful changes in order inflow rate in Q1 relating to all of the rumors of “brand damage”?
- If they say no here, don’t believe them. Tesla is down 50,000 units in Q1, and yes, the Model Y changeover has something to do with it, but you can clearly see now, based on new Model Y delivery timelines, that Tesla has no order backlog for the vehicle. It will likely launch incentives to sell the brand-new vehicle that was supposed to save Tesla’s auto business in the coming weeks.

Tune in with Electrek after market close today to get all the latest news from Tesla’s earnings, conference call, and now also an apparent “company update.”

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