President Joe Biden issued two executive orders on June 6th, 2022. The first was to strengthen the solar installation and manufacturing industries in the United States of America (USA). An emergency declaration was issued to deal with a lack of solar panels in the country. Second, the Défense Production Act was invoked to encourage domestic manufacturing of solar and other clean-energy technology.
In What Ways And For What Reasons Did The President Act?
President Biden authorized the Secretary of Commerce to allow the importation for 24 months of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Auxin Solar investigated if Chinese companies sold equipment from such nations to avoid anti-dumping tariffs.
As a result, most solar manufacturers from the nations stopped exporting products to the United States in the spring of 2022. The fear of tariffs led to a 50% reduction in solar installations. To overcome this the President waived off tariffs for the next 24 months.
Moreover, Vice President Biden said that he will activate the Defense Production Act (DPA) to encourage U.S.-based manufacturing of sustainable energy. All of Vice President Joe Biden’s activities are aimed at speeding up the country’s transition to sustainable energy.
What Are the Long-Term Consequences Of These Actions?
Large-scale solar projects that were put on hold due to the Commerce Department probe are now restarting again. Due to this, the production facilities in the four target nations will be back to full capacity by 2023. The DPA order should also help boost domestic production in the United States.
Demand for domestically made panels will be high enough to attract a lot of new investment in U.S.-based manufacturing facilities Over time, this could lead to cheaper costs and greater accessibility.
To What Extent Would This Affect Homeowners having Solar Panels?
U.S. solar energy producers will import materials to make and sell their goods at the same pricing. With tariffs, these companies will have to change their production processes to make their own silicon wafers and cells. This means there is not much privilege for the homeowners, but solar production will boost the economy.