WASHINGTON, DC – This week, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced their bipartisan Protecting American Solar Jobs and Lowering Costs Act, which would repeal the Administration’s Section 201 tariffs on solar panels and create a Department of Energy program to enhance domestic production and manufacturing of solar panels and other solar energy components. The solar tariffs, which were first imposed by the Trump Administration in 2018, and recently extended by the Biden Administration, have led to an increase in prices for solar panels and cost tens of thousands of American clean energy jobs.
Axios: Scoop: Bipartisan senators to rebuke Biden on solar tariffs
Key Points:
- Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) are introducing a bill to repeal President Biden’s solar panel import rules and create a Department of Energy program to enhance domestic production and manufacturing of solar panels and other components.
- The bill also directs the Department of Energy to invest in research and development for parts of the supply chain that the U.S. doesn’t have, including wafer ingot manufacturing capacity and solar cell manufacturing capacity in the U.S.
- But current domestic production of solar panels only meets 15% of the U.S. solar demand, according to SEIA, meaning the solar industry heavily relies on imports, primarily from China, to compete with fossil fuels.
Nevada Current: Rosen introduces bill to repeal solar tariffs
Key Points:
- U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, and Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, introduced a bill that would repeal the Biden administration’s extension on most imported solar panels.
- Nevada solar industry leaders were dismayed by Biden’s extension on tariffs imposed by defeated former President Donald Trump four years ago, arguing that fees on imported panels have failed to boost domestic manufacturing as intended.
- “Solar tariffs are hurting America’s clean energy economy by raising prices for American families and costing us jobs in this key industry, while failing to incentivize domestic manufacturing,” said Rosen in a statement.
- Nevada has more than 6,100 solar energy jobs, the most per capita in the U.S., according to a recent report based on U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
POLITICO Morning Energy: The bipartisan climate solution
Key Points:
- Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced the Protecting American Solar Jobs and Lowering Costs Act on Thursday to repeal the so-called Section 201 tariffs, which the president extended for four more years earlier this month.
- The bill would also create a program at the Energy Department to enhance domestic production and manufacturing of solar panels and other components.
E&E News: Bipartisan Senate bill would halt Biden’s solar Tariffs
Key Points:
- A bipartisan Senate duo introduced legislation yesterday that would force the Biden administration to drop a series of solar panel tariffs that the industry says increase costs for deploying the renewable energy technology.
- The solar tariffs were first put in place by the Trump administration and got an extension earlier this month from President Biden, albeit with some tweaks.
- Rosen’s bill would immediately revoke those tariffs. The measure would also direct the Department of Energy to launch a new grant program, subject to appropriations, that would help spur more domestic panel production capabilities.
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