President Biden is taking a series of executive actions to strengthen and grow America's solar industry.
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According to the White House fact sheet, the Biden administration plans to take the following actions:
• Eliminates the duplex module exclusion under Section 201.
Bifacial solar panels, commonly used in utility-scale solar projects, are currently not subject to safeguard tariffs under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. Since the previous administration implemented this exclusion, imports of bifacial panels have skyrocketed and now account for nearly all imports. U.S. solar panel imports have weakened the effectiveness of Section 201 protections. Today, the Biden-Harris administration announced plans to lift this exclusion immediately. This will provide U.S. solar manufacturers with increased Section 201 tariff protection from unfair imports. Importers with existing contracts to deliver bifacial solar modules within 90 days of the exclusion being lifted may certify those contracts to continue using the exclusion during that period.
• End solar bridges and crack down on hoarding. June 2022,
President Biden launched a temporary 24-month bridge to facilitate duty-free imports of certain imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to ensure robust deployment while the domestic solar manufacturing base expands. Since then, both U.S. solar manufacturing and deployment have grown dramatically. As the president previously promised, the bridge will close on schedule on June 6, 2024, with producers in Southeast Asia found to be avoiding anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar manufacturers in the People's Republic of China (PRC). You will have that obligation. Additionally, when implementing solar bridges, the Commerce Department requires that panels imported duty-free be installed within 180 days to prevent hoarding. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it will aggressively enforce this provision, including requiring importers to provide CBP with a certificate of solar module utilization along with detailed information about the modules they are deploying.
• Monitor import surges and oversupply. Imports of solar modules from Southeast Asia surged last year after Chinese manufacturers were found to have evaded anti-dumping and countervailing duties. Chinese companies have recently built new capabilities in these countries targeting the U.S. market. The Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce will closely monitor import patterns to ensure that U.S. markets are not oversaturated and explore all possible steps to take action against unfair practices.
• Provides additional guidance on domestic content bonuses.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes bonus tax credits available to clean energy project developers.
Meets specific legal requirements for sourcing steel products and manufactured products from domestic producers. Today, the Treasury Department is issuing additional guidance on domestic content bonuses to ensure that more clean energy developers and manufacturers in the United States can take advantage of the bonuses. Domestic content bonuses are already driving partnerships between developers and manufacturers in the U.S., but stakeholders have raised concerns about difficulties determining eligibility. Today's notice creates a new optional safe harbor that gives energy developers the option to rely on base cost rates provided by the Department of Energy to determine bonus eligibility. Treasury and the IRS plan to continue to consider stakeholder comments and issue additional domestic content guidance. Addresses issues not covered by this scope, including adding additional sectors, including offshore wind, to the new elective safe harbor table and issuing proposed rules for projects using elective pay (also known as direct pay). In particular, Treasury and the IRS, along with DOE and other agencies, continue to evaluate potential options to advance the IRA's goal of encouraging U.S. solar manufacturing, including solar wafer production.
• Support technology development for land-based solar wafer and cell manufacturing
g. The Department of Energy announced more than $70 million in research and development options to seed new technologies throughout the solar supply chain. Funding from the President's bipartisan infrastructure law will allow new entrants to the solar manufacturing market to establish their technology and access more capital. The 18 selected projects will address gaps in the domestic solar manufacturing supply chain, including equipment, ingot, wafer, silicon and thin-film solar cell manufacturing, and open new markets for solar technologies such as integrated photovoltaics and agricultural power generation.
• Administer solar tariff quotas under Section 201 to support the expansion of solar manufacturing.
Currently, under Article 201, the tariff rate quota for imported solar cells is 5 gigawatts. The administration will closely monitor the level of imported solar cells used to manufacture panels in the United States and will work to increase the quota by 7.5 gigawatts when: Imports approach current quota levels to ensure that domestic module manufacturing continues to grow while manufacturers scale production across the supply chain.
Ali Zaidi, the national climate advisor, told PoliricusUSA on a call with reporters. Only the first two months of 2024. It has already increased by more than 67% compared to the previous year. It's part of a broader trend seen in the power sector. 2024 is expected to be the year in which the most new generation capacity is added to the U.S. electric grid. It is also expected that 96% of new electrons will be generated by clean energy, but behind all of this in a macro context, the investment boom we are seeing in the United States is threatened by unfair and non-market practices occurring abroad. . ”
Biden is protecting American jobs and clean energy from China's unfair trade practices. The President understands that by protecting solar energy, we're not just saving jobs. He's also saving the Earth. While Republicans talk about standing up to China, Biden is doing it, and in the process, he's ushering in a clearer energy future for the country.
Jason is the editor-in-chief. He is also a member of the White House Correspondent and Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. His graduate studies focused on public policy, specializing in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association.