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Released August 15, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In a continuing effort to combat what is seen as unfair competition from Chinese solar panel manufacturers--and China as a whole--a bipartisan group of three U.S. senators has introduced what it's calling the "American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act."
Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the act at the end of July, with the goal of preventing American tax dollars from going to Chinese companies desiring to build factories in the U.S. Its purpose is to protect the domestic solar industry from being unfairly undercut, Senator Brown explained.
"We cannot allow American tax dollars to go to Chinese companies that cheat and undermine American solar manufacturing. Our bipartisan bill will make sure that only American companies are supported by taxpayer dollars, and support the creation of manufacturing jobs throughout the solar supply chain across Ohio. We will not allow the Chinese government to take down the American solar manufacturing industry."
This follows the "Keep China Out of Solar Energy Act of 2023," introduced by Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR). According to Scott's website, the 2023 law's purpose was "to prohibit federal funds from being used to buy solar panels manufactured or assembled in Communist China, specifically targeting those known for the use of slave labor."
While that one involved panels made in China, the new act would prohibit Chinese companies from getting tax incentives to make them here. It is important to note that it does not prevent Chinese companies from building in the U. S, it just means they will not receive Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-based tax incentives for doing so.
Who's Already Here?
In mid-July Reuters listed seven companies it indicated were planning to use IRA money for expansion. They include:
Unsurprisingly, the U.S. solar industry is enthusiastic about the new legislation, with First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona)--which also has facilities in Louisiana and Ohio, meaning it's in states represented by two of the four sponsors--chiming in. The company's Chief Executive Officer Mark Widmer had testified before Congress in April regarding unfair Chinese competition.
There he said, "China's dominance of solar energy is well-known and intentional." He added, "We need urgency, tax policy clarity, and strong and consistent trade enforcement to ensure the U.S. solar manufacturing sector can scale as Congress intended when drafting the IRA."
On the 2024 bill he declared, "It is imperative that the U.S. solar manufacturing industry, which should not be confused with companies simply assembling modules in the U.S. with high-value-add imported components, is granted a level playing field allowing it to compete on its own merits."
Other Chinese Restrictions
On August 1, Bloomberg reported that U.S. regulators were considering "unilateral restrictions on China's access to AI memory chips and equipment capable of making those semiconductors as soon as next month...."
The immediate goal is to keep the industry's three dominant firms--Micron Technology, South Korea's SK Hynix (Icheon, South Korea) and Samsung (Suwon, South Korea)--from selling high bandwidth memory (HBM). Bloomberg says there has been no final decision.
What Constitutes a Chinese Firm?
The current legislation would apply to nations as a "foreign entity of concern (as 13 defined in section 9901(8) of the William M. (Mac) 14 Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 15 Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651(8)))."
And that section of the Thornberry bill includes a long list of federal agencies with their own long lists of "parties of concern"--a significant number of which are indeed Chinese.
Louisiana's Cassidy also earlier this year teamed with South Carolina's Lindsey Graham in submitting legislation entitled the Foreign Pollution Fee aimed at "holding China accountable for its higher greenhouse gas emissions and other types of pollution in creating products aimed at the U.S. market," said Cassidy's website.
So it is clear that China's economic policies are getting pushback from U.S. legislators. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the act at the end of July, with the goal of preventing American tax dollars from going to Chinese companies desiring to build factories in the U.S. Its purpose is to protect the domestic solar industry from being unfairly undercut, Senator Brown explained.
"We cannot allow American tax dollars to go to Chinese companies that cheat and undermine American solar manufacturing. Our bipartisan bill will make sure that only American companies are supported by taxpayer dollars, and support the creation of manufacturing jobs throughout the solar supply chain across Ohio. We will not allow the Chinese government to take down the American solar manufacturing industry."
This follows the "Keep China Out of Solar Energy Act of 2023," introduced by Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR). According to Scott's website, the 2023 law's purpose was "to prohibit federal funds from being used to buy solar panels manufactured or assembled in Communist China, specifically targeting those known for the use of slave labor."
While that one involved panels made in China, the new act would prohibit Chinese companies from getting tax incentives to make them here. It is important to note that it does not prevent Chinese companies from building in the U. S, it just means they will not receive Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-based tax incentives for doing so.
Who's Already Here?
In mid-July Reuters listed seven companies it indicated were planning to use IRA money for expansion. They include:
- ILLUMINATE USA (Pataskala, Ohio), a joint venture between Chinese solar equipment maker Longi and U.S. clean energy project developer Invenergy LLC (Chicago, Illinois). In February it started producing solar panels at a 5-gigawatt (GW) plant in Pataskala, Ohio.
- TRINA SOLAR is building a 5-GW solar module plant in Wilmer, Texas, expected to start production later this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report.
- JINKO SOLAR (Shanghai, China) opened a 400-megawatt panel factory in Jacksonville, Florida in 2018 and now plans to spend $52 million to triple its current capacity by the end of 2026. (See project report.)
- JA SOLAR (Beijing, China) is spending $60 million on a 2-GW panel plant in Phoenix, Arizona. (See project report.)
- RUNERGY (Jiangsu, China) is currently building a 5-GW solar module plant in Huntsville, Alabama.
- BOVIET SOLAR (Bac Giang, Vietnam) will invest $294 million in solar cell and module factories in Greenville, North Carolina. (See related project reports.)
- HOUNEN SOLAR is investing $33 million in a 1-GW factory in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Unsurprisingly, the U.S. solar industry is enthusiastic about the new legislation, with First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona)--which also has facilities in Louisiana and Ohio, meaning it's in states represented by two of the four sponsors--chiming in. The company's Chief Executive Officer Mark Widmer had testified before Congress in April regarding unfair Chinese competition.
There he said, "China's dominance of solar energy is well-known and intentional." He added, "We need urgency, tax policy clarity, and strong and consistent trade enforcement to ensure the U.S. solar manufacturing sector can scale as Congress intended when drafting the IRA."
On the 2024 bill he declared, "It is imperative that the U.S. solar manufacturing industry, which should not be confused with companies simply assembling modules in the U.S. with high-value-add imported components, is granted a level playing field allowing it to compete on its own merits."
Other Chinese Restrictions
On August 1, Bloomberg reported that U.S. regulators were considering "unilateral restrictions on China's access to AI memory chips and equipment capable of making those semiconductors as soon as next month...."
The immediate goal is to keep the industry's three dominant firms--Micron Technology, South Korea's SK Hynix (Icheon, South Korea) and Samsung (Suwon, South Korea)--from selling high bandwidth memory (HBM). Bloomberg says there has been no final decision.
What Constitutes a Chinese Firm?
The current legislation would apply to nations as a "foreign entity of concern (as 13 defined in section 9901(8) of the William M. (Mac) 14 Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 15 Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651(8)))."
And that section of the Thornberry bill includes a long list of federal agencies with their own long lists of "parties of concern"--a significant number of which are indeed Chinese.
Louisiana's Cassidy also earlier this year teamed with South Carolina's Lindsey Graham in submitting legislation entitled the Foreign Pollution Fee aimed at "holding China accountable for its higher greenhouse gas emissions and other types of pollution in creating products aimed at the U.S. market," said Cassidy's website.
So it is clear that China's economic policies are getting pushback from U.S. legislators. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
