The decision has been nearly universally lauded across the solar industry, and thought leaders in policy, advocacy, and project development have chimed in with their perspective on the decision and its ramifications.
June 6, 2022
President Biden’s announcement of a 24-month tariff exemption on solar modules manufactured in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, alongside his enactment of the Defense Production Act to accelerate American manufacturing serve as major boons for the near-term future of the solar industry.
So far, the decision has been met with praise across the solar industry, as the President’s actions are expected to get module imports flowing again. The decision provides a lifeline to the hundreds of MWs of solar projects that faced delays or cancellations due to sudden module supply constraints.
SEIA
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper commending the move in a statement.
“We applaud President Biden’s thoughtful approach to addressing the current crisis of the paralyzed solar supply chain,” said Hopper. “The president is providing improved business certainty today while harnessing the power of the Defense Production Act for tomorrow. Today’s actions protect existing solar jobs, will lead to increased employment in the solar industry and foster a robust solar manufacturing base here at home.
“While the Department of Commerce investigation will continue as required by statute, and we remain confident that a review of the facts will result in a negative determination, the president’s action is a much-needed reprieve from this industry-crushing probe. During the two-year tariff suspension window, the U.S. solar industry can return to rapid deployment while the Defense Production Act helps grow American solar manufacturing.”
Hopper went on to highlight how critical establishing a domestic supply chain is to achieving both Biden and SEIA’s renewable energy and emission reduction goals and thanked SEIA’s members who raised awareness about the damage being done by the investigation.
ACORE
Similar praise was shared by Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).
“Thanks to today’s actions by the White House, the American solar industry can finally get back to work driving economic growth, reducing electricity costs and lowering greenhouse gas emissions,” he said in a statement. “We thank the President and his staff for the vitally important relief he has provided for the nation’s solar sector. This welcome development follows months of needless disruption to one of the country’s fastest-growing sources of new jobs and best defenses against the threat of climate change. Now that we have a reprieve from the destructive impacts of the Commerce inquiry, we look forward to working with the administration and our allies in Congress to secure the enactment of policies that strengthen our domestic supply chain, such as the clean energy tax package currently being negotiated that provides advanced manufacturing tax credits and long-term tax incentives for renewable power.”
SOLV Energy
George Hershman, CEO of SOLV Energy, also applauded the announcement, but warned that any tariffs imposed as a result of the ongoing circumvention case after the freeze could still mean trouble for the industry.
“President Biden’s decisive leadership enables companies like mine to move forward on stalled projects and bring solar workers back to our jobsites,” said Hershman. “This announcement provides much needed clarity in the short-term on trade, and takes action on his promise to deploy more clean energy resources domestically while growing American manufacturing in the long-term.
“While I applaud the President for his leadership in building a brighter future today, the lingering threat of tariffs stemming from the ongoing circumvention case will continue to jeopardize our clean energy progress. I strongly urge the Department of Commerce to work toward a swift end to this case and put the solar industry fully back to work.”
Center for Biological Diversity
Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Energy Justice program shared her hope that Biden’s executive action will lead to more climate- and renewable energy-focused action from a federal level.
“Biden’s executive moves give critical momentum to the needed transition to solar energy,” Su said. “We hope this use of the Defense Production Act is a turning point for the president, who must use all his executive powers to confront the climate emergency head on. While pausing tariffs will bring in much-needed solar panels quickly, it’s also vital for the U.S. to ramp up domestic manufacturing with strong labor practices so we don’t support slave-labor manufacturing abroad. Biden needs to follow through on these promising actions by using every tool at hand for a rapid phaseout of violent fossil fuels and robust development of a just, renewable energy system.”
Standard Solar
Scott Wiater, president & CEO of Standard Solar praised the president’s action as an opportunity for developers to kickstart project development and construction, which has slowed in the two months since the investigation began.
“We’re encouraged by the Biden Administration’s recognition of the crisis our industry is facing and taking the immediate necessary steps to protect the crippled solar supply chain and the thousands of solar workers who would be adversely affected by these tariffs. By providing this two-year reprieve from the Department of Commerce probe and nurturing market growth via the Defense Production Act, his administration allows us to return to the vital business of developing solar projects and forwarding our country’s clean energy transition.”
AEE
Nat Kreamer, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy applauded Biden’s action that is expected provide stability for the solar industry moving forward.
“This is a needed stay in a more than decade-long tariff war that has been a loser for all parties,” said Kreamer. “Tariffs only raise costs for consumers and don’t create domestic demand for clean energy. These announcements today provide much-needed stability to the solar industry and the clean energy transition at large, and send the message to Congress that now is the time to act urgently to build the clean energy domestic manufacturing industry this country needs to protect consumers and become energy independent.
“Investments in clean energy technologies, like the ones announced today by the White House, will help develop a robust, U.S.-based advanced energy manufacturing industry that can bolster the middle class, revitalize communities hollowed out by decades of deindustrialization, and expand economic opportunity in frontline communities.”
First Solar
Samantha Sloan, Vice President of Policy for First Solar, which manufactures in the US, expressed her company’s disappointment at what she sees as an undermining of American manufacturing.
“First Solar is deeply disappointed in today’s announcement, which only benefits China’s state-subsidized solar industry,” she said.
“Today’s proclamation directly undermines American solar manufacturing by giving unfettered access to China’s state-subsidized solar companies for the next two years. This sends the message that companies can circumvent American laws and that the US government will let them get away with it as long as they’re backed by deep-pocketed political pressure campaigns.
“Furthermore, the use of the Defense Production Act to boost solar manufacturing is an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars and falls well short of a durable solar industrial policy, such as the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, which the administration has so far failed to deliver. Quite simply, the administration cannot stick a band-aid on the issue and hope that it goes away. Had the administration consulted with America’s solar manufacturers, they would have known as much.”
