The following blog was posted by Heather Zichal, Chief Executive Officer at American Clean Power (ACP).
“On Monday, March 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Secretary Gina Raimondo initiated an anti-circumvention case that immediately and effectively levies tariffs of up to 250% on solar module parts from trading partners that supply a majority of the modules for American solar projects.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has chosen to investigate one rogue solar firm’s disingenuous complaint that the rest of the American solar industry is circumventing trade law. During the review of this egregious petition, tariffs of up to 250% are effectively applied to the majority of America’s solar module supply — artificially raising the total cost of domestic solar projects to a level that essentially freezes project construction.
The rest of America pays the price for the petitioner’s gain in the form of higher electricity bills during a time of high inflation, fewer middle-class clean energy jobs, furloughed jobs throughout the solar sector, greater dependence on foreign fossil fuels supplied by autocratic nations, and a more polluted planet. The Commerce Department rejected a similar petition last year and should follow its own precedent by moving swiftly to signal a negative preliminary ruling on this petition.
President Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo still have the power to recognize the petition for what it is — an effort at gaming the system — and issue a negative ruling, becoming champions for American solar energy production, the middle-class jobs those domestic energy investments create, and the planet we seek to preserve. However, initiating the investigation alone is expected to restrict solar deployment to levels less than what was achieved under the Trump administration."
Read the full story from ACP here.
Find out more information about how this negatively impacts jobs, companies and the industry from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) here.
Blattner is not immune to these impacts. The solar industry has become a strong, economical and respected way of generating clean energy. Yet, we are working together with ACP, SEIA and the whole industry to overcome, and continue the great renewable energy work that the industry provides to build a cleaner, safer and more brilliant world.
