Energy Wire By Kelsey Brugger | 01/24/2022
President Biden’s clean energy and jobs agenda is facing a critical test as the White House weighs several decisions on U.S. solar policy, with pressure mounting on multiple fronts.
While the entire solar industry wants to see more panels and cells built in the U.S., there are differing views on how to get there. The current debate hinges largely on two questions: What should happen to Trump’s solar tariffs, and should Biden’s “Buy American” policy be changed?
“We’re at an inflection point for the industry,” said Scott Moskowitz, director of strategy and public affairs at Georgia-based Hanwha Q Cells, the largest solar manufacturing plant in the Western Hemisphere. Solar is “the cheapest form of energy that has ever existed — now that the industry has scaled, how are we going to make sure we install as much as possible?”
China currently dominates the solar manufacturing industry, supplying about 75 percent of solar equipment worldwide. Critics point out its factories are powered by coal and run by forced labor.
One of the first tests for Biden comes by Feb. 6, when he must decide whether to extend the Trump Section 201 tariffs on solar panels and cells that supporters say saved the sliver of the U.S. manufacturing sector that existed. Tariff critics say they did little to boost the U.S. solar industry.
But less attention has been given to another policy approach Biden often promotes: buying American. In recent months U.S. solar manufacturers say they hope the administration will build on the “America First” inclinations espoused by former President Trump.
They are pressing Biden to expand the administration’s Buy American plan. Last year, Biden opened a dedicated office in the White House and issued an executive order to strengthen policies to increase the U.S. content in products that the federal government buys — everything from helicopter blades to office chairs (E&E News PM, Jan. 19).
More:
https://www.eenews.net/articles/inflection-point-biden-faces-2-tests-that-could-remake-solar/