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1. Embed this notice
   Christian Roselund (croselund@mastodon.energy)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:38 JST Christian Roselund

   Autarky in the USA!*

   *Except if you are getting your #solar cells from Korea.

   Given that we make exactly zero solar cells in the United States at present, the latest solar trade case seems to have less to do with protecting U.S. manufacturing and more to do with QCells and First Solar shutting their competitors - including other American manufacturers - out of the market.

   And every time we do this, it incrementally slows the #energytransition.

   https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/24/u-s-solar-manufacturers-petitions-southeast-asia-00153994

   • Embed this notice
     Mark Ohe (mark_ohe@mastodon.energy)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:31 JST Mark Ohe

     in reply to

     • Kevin Leecaster

     @GreenFire @croselund

     "I don't think that in the long run allowing China to be in charge of global clean energy manufacturing is the best for everyone." Fair point! But we're talking short run here, right? Markets need certainty to thrive. Stifling solar mfg is counterproductive.

     HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Kevin Leecaster (greenfire@mstdn.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:31 JST Kevin Leecaster

     in reply to

     • Mark Ohe

     @mark_ohe @croselund
     Like I said, the developing countries are welcome to the cheap solar China's been subsidizing so that they can decarbonize at a lower cost as far as I'm concerned while Americans figure out how to keep Republicans from retaking power and stopping all of the climate action that Joe Biden has helped initiate.

   • Embed this notice
     Kevin Leecaster (greenfire@mstdn.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:32 JST Kevin Leecaster

     in reply to

     • Mark Ohe

     @mark_ohe @croselund
     I get it that it's frustrating, but we have to operate with the laws we've got since we should all know that this 118th Congress is not going to do anything to help the clean energy industry while Mike Johnson's got the gavel.

     We have to operate in the system we've got while trying to make it better the best we can and I don't think that in the long run allowing China to be in charge of global clean energy manufacturing is the best for everyone. Some may trust them, not me

   • Embed this notice
     Christian Roselund (croselund@mastodon.energy)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:33 JST Christian Roselund

     in reply to

     • Kevin Leecaster

     @GreenFire This one isn't Yellen, it's Raimondo's Department of Commerce. But Raimondo isn't really in charge; these AD/CVD investigations are very rules-based.

     Problem is, the rules are set up to protect U.S. companies and explicitly do not consider the common good for our country or our climate.

   • Embed this notice
     Mark Ohe (mark_ohe@mastodon.energy)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:33 JST Mark Ohe

     in reply to

     • Kevin Leecaster

     @croselund @GreenFire

     Such an excellent point. Fully agree.

   • Embed this notice
     Christian Roselund (croselund@mastodon.energy)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:35 JST Christian Roselund

     in reply to

     • Kevin Leecaster

     @GreenFire

     Also: the cost of modules are between 25-30% of the cost of a utility-scale solar power plant, and 10-15% of the cost of a residential solar installation.

     But many projects operate on tight margins, and AD/CVD *cannot* be predicted (rates are set 2 years later). So it really throws off project economics and will cause projects to be cancelled.

   • Embed this notice
     Kevin Leecaster (greenfire@mstdn.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:35 JST Kevin Leecaster

     in reply to

     @croselund
     It will be interesting to see how Secretary Yellen deals with this application from those two companies and to let you know, I don't trust those two red state solar companies to be thinking about the big picture nor being honest either, but all of us that have been working to get climate action as long as I have knew that the transition would have plenty of hiccups since we are up against defenders of the status quo with huge resources.

     We can still do it though.

   • Embed this notice
     Kevin Leecaster (greenfire@mstdn.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:36 JST Kevin Leecaster

     in reply to

     @croselund
     Do you know what percentage of the cost for installing solar the PV modules are in the USA? With our grids still not reformed enough to accept most of our new grid-scale projects I think that we have time to protect ourselves from China while allowing the cheap subsidized panels they produce to be used in less wealthy countries. Heck, I'd like to see most of them sent to #Ukraine

   • Embed this notice
     Christian Roselund (croselund@mastodon.energy)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:37 JST Christian Roselund

     in reply to

     • Kevin Leecaster

     @GreenFire Yes, but this case is about solar cells, not modules (which other than poly is all we make).

     And while I think it will drive some solar cell manufacturing in either the USA or third countries, it will also slow deployment this year. We don't have any more years to screw around like this.

   • Embed this notice
     Kevin Leecaster (greenfire@mstdn.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 10:08:38 JST Kevin Leecaster

     in reply to

     @croselund
     We have some domestic #solar production.

     Currently, the U.S. PV manufacturing industry has the capacity to produce PV modules to meet nearly a third of today’s domestic demand, but has gaps for solar glass and in the crystalline silicon value chain for the wafer and cell segments.

     It's fine if we allow the developing economies access to lower cost PV while we build out a vital national security domestic manufacturing industry that's been neglected.