Biden’s Solar Factory Boom Slows as Cheap Imports Flood Market
The Inflation Reduction Act helped spur new US solar manufacturing, but less than two years later, there are signs the boom is fizzling.
Solar advocates have lobbied the president to remove a 25% levy on critical manufacturing equipment imported from China as part of the administration’s review of so-called Section 301 tariffs.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
President Joe Biden’s signature climate law unleashed a $16 billion flood of promised investments in solar manufacturing, as companies unveiled plans for factories across the US and raised hopes of eroding China’s green tech dominance.
But less than two years later, manufacturers have quietly shelved or slowed plans for at least four of those plants. High borrowing costs and record-low panel prices — the result of cheap imports pouring into the market — have made some projects uneconomical. The decisions underscore the limits of US government subsidies when it comes to wresting control of established clean energy supply chains from China.