New Mexico Grants $10 Million to Relatively Unknown China Solar Panel Maker

Unfortunately, the IRA has cemented that fact here at home. A recent report from Horizon Advisory, which sheds light on how China’s state-subsidized solar industry is undermining U.S. manufacturing while exploiting billions of dollars in tax credits provided by the IRA. The report details how China has strategically positioned itself to dominate the U.S. and global solar markets through a combination of government subsidies, overproduction, and exploitation of U.S. policy loopholes—most notably, the tax credits created by the IRA. 

Ebon is relatively new to the industry. Their company website uses stock photos of men installing solar panels on a rooftop and does not list the names of its senior management. Judy Cai is the company’s CEO, and her name appears in press releases from the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Ebon is currently hiring for three positions, including a human resources role in Albuquerque, where the company expects to hire some 900 workers.

As a typical Chinese holding company, Ebang has a wide range of businesses, including telecom, chipmaking, Bitcoin mining, and blockchain and digital asset management solutions.

Ebang’s C-suite executives are based in Hangzhou, home to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Hindenburg Research, an investment research firm that analyzes stocks they consider good short-selling opportunities, described Ebang as “Yet Another Crypto ‘China Hustle’ Absconding With U.S. Investor Cash.” The report claims that Ebang’s executives directed capital proceeds away from business development and into opaque deals with insiders and questionable counterparties. For instance, Ebang directed $103 million — $11 million more than its entire June 2020 IPO proceeds — into bond purchases linked to its underwriter, AMTD Group, a company accused of fraud and self-dealing by Hong Kong financial regulators.

Hindenburg Research also described Ebang’s record in China as “abysmal” and alleged that, before going public in the U.S., the company used cash embezzled from a fraudulent lending scheme to inflate its sales and attract investors. Ebang’s attempts to list in Hong Kong failed twice due to customer lawsuits, police investigations, and other fraud allegations, forcing the company to list on Nasdaq instead. No major U.S. investment banks were involved in that IPO, led by AMTD Group.

Well-known Chinese solar companies are investing in the U.S. due to the IRA incentives. This includes JA Solar’s planned facility in Arizona, Longi’s planned investment in Ohio, and Canadian Solar and Trina Solar’s investments in Texas. These are all greenfield projects. They join Jinko Solar of Florida, a Chinese solar giant that set up shop in the U.S. in 2018, likely to avoid Section 201 solar safeguard tariffs and other risks tied to China’s solar production. Jinko assembles solar cells imported from Asia into solar panels at its Florida facility.

In addition to major players, smaller companies like Ebon are also entering the U.S. market.

In April, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced a $300 million investment in a solar manufacturing plant by Boviet Solar. Boviet is headquartered in Vietnam, but like Ebon, its parent company is Chinese — Ningbo Boway Alloy Material Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Boway Group.

Dan DiMicco, CPA vice chairman and North Carolina native, wrote in The Charlotte Observer this summer, “Chinese firms are looking to access more than $125 billion in IRA funds for their own operations. These companies often stay in business thanks to massive financial support from the Chinese government. American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize China’s solar industry.”