What appears to be a coordinated strategy between China and importers of their solar panels is taking place at the moment, trying to convince Washington to let tariffs expire next year and stop any potential dumping investigation into Southeast Asia’s newfound love for solar panel manufacturing.
Domestic solar manufacturers are staging a comeback. Here’s a look at what tariffs have meant for investment in this space, and a looming threat ahead that could undermine all of it.
Thanks to currencies worth peanuts, and weak environmental rules, China has turned three SE Asian nations into their solar-making vassal states. The 20% tariff against them is not enough. Here’s what Washington needs to do if it wants a domestic solar industry.
Customs makes good on its promise to root out imported solar cells and panels believed to have been made from polysilicon produced by Hoshine Silicon Industry, banned from the U.S. solar supply chain this summer.
School bus manufacturers are domestic. The Senate infrastructure bill gives them $5 billion to build non-diesel buses, but it falls far short of what the industry wanted in order to crank up the volume and reduce subsidy dependence.
Another positive in the Senate’s recently passed $550 billion infrastructure bill: finding, and producing, more of the minerals that will power a post-fossil fuel economy. If not done fast, the U.S. will be wholly dependent on foreign sources of energy materials.
A House Select Committee on Climate hearing looked at climate change policies and economic growth. They focused mostly on tax incentives and federal loans. But big OEMs like Ford may still ‘go green’ elsewhere. Here’s why.
A House Small Business Committee hearing listened to witnesses discuss ways to help the labor markets in Biden’s push for a green economy for blue-collar workers.