Biden to unveil new executive actions to promote domestic renewable energy
According to a person familiar with the moves, President Joe Biden will issue additional executive measures on Monday to stimulate domestic manufacture of solar panels and sustainable energy technology.
“As part of his multi-pronged plan to expedite the transition to clean energy manufactured in America and lower energy costs,” a source told CNN, “the President will activate the Defense Production Act on Monday to rapidly boost domestic production of important clean energy technology.”
The solar industry has been campaigning hard for this announcement, which has seen projects stall since Biden’s Commerce Department initiated a tariff investigation in March. Hundreds of utility-scale solar projects in the United States have been delayed or canceled as a result of the investigation’s hefty, retroactive tariffs, and solar industry workers have been laid off as a result.
The steps on Monday, according to a source familiar with the situation, will have no influence on the Commerce Department’s trade investigations, which will “continue uninterrupted,” the source added.
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According to Solar Energy Industries Association President Abigail Ross Hopper, the presidential action will include a two-year delay in anti-circumvention taxes on solar.
Biden would also use the federal government’s purchasing power to help US clean energy manufacturers, according to the source, and “will take efforts to assist US solar deployers with the short-term stability they need to establish clean energy projects.”
The executive moves were initially reported by Reuters.
Leaders in the solar industry praised the move, calling it a “relief” for a struggling industry.
“While the Department of Commerce inquiry will proceed as required by statute, and we remain convinced that a review of the facts will result in a negative finding,” Ross Hopper said.
