Sen. Ossoff’s “Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act” will create a new tax credit to rapidly boost American solar manufacturing, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and support American energy independence
Legislation would create tens of thousands of American jobs
Georgia hosts largest solar manufacturer in Western Hemisphere
Washington, D.C. — Following the introduction of U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, legislation to rapidly boost American solar manufacturing, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and support American energy independence, over a dozen solar industry leaders and groups praised the bill and thanked Sen. Ossoff for his leadership.
The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act would provide tax credits to the solar manufacturing industry at every stage of the supply chain, incentivizing domestic production necessary for producing solar energy technologies.
Demand for solar energy is skyrocketing as the world transitions away from fossil fuels, but China dominates the solar supply chain. Sen. Ossoff’s legislation will boost American solar to create clean energy jobs, better compete with Chinese manufacturers, and support American energy independence.
The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act would provide tax credits for American manufacturers at every stage of the solar manufacturing supply chain, from production of polysilicon to solar cells to fully assembled solar modules.
Sen. Ossoff’s office projects the legislation would create tens of thousands of American solar jobs, based on analysis and estimates from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The Q CELLS plant in Dalton, Georgia, which produces solar panels and arrays, is the largest solar manufacturing facility in the Western Hemisphere.
“This is exactly the kind of policy the United States needs to scale the solar manufacturing sector and compete on the world stage. This proposal would create tens of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs across America in places like our home of Dalton, Georgia,” said Scott Moskowitz, Director of Market Intelligence and Public Affairs, Hanwha Q CELLS North America.“Further, the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act will help to diversify the entire solar supply chain, increasing the United States’ energy security while allowing us to competitively meet domestic and global solar energy demand. Solar is the future and Senators Ossoff, Warnock, Stabenow and Bennet are paving the way to help make Georgia and the United States a world leader in clean energy manufacturing. We look forward to working with him to turn this into law.”
John I. Taylor, Senior Vice President, LG Electronics USA applauded the bill, saying, “LG appreciates Senator Ossoff’s leadership. This bill will help ensure that solar will do more than provide clean power to our homes and cities. It also will help repower and revitalize our manufacturing sector with skilled, well-paying jobs throughout the entire value chain in the domestic solar sector.”
“As a Georgia-based solar energy company, we are thrilled to support Senator Ossoff’s forward-thinking legislation to boost domestic manufacturing of solar technology,” said Stan Allen, CEO of SolAmerica Energy. “It’s critically important for us as a nation to move toward clean energy solutions to protect our environment and create good-paying jobs, and Georgia is perfectly positioned to take advantage of solar as an energy source. We look forward to working with Senator Ossoff to pass this bill and help install solar energy across Georgia and the entire country.”
“If the U.S. is to lead the world in addressing climate change — and capture the economic benefits from doing so — federal lawmakers need to put policies in place that support building a robust domestic solar manufacturing supply chain,” said Joel Jean, CEO, Swift Solar. “Swift Solar applauds Senator Ossoff for introducing this important legislation. It will ensure that innovative companies like ours looking to manufacture new solar technologies here in the U.S. can successfully participate in the highly competitive global market for clean energy technologies.”
“We strongly support Senator Ossoff’s manufacturing proposal and commend his leadership on this critical topic,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “This legislation is an important step for spurring domestic manufacturing across all key elements of the solar supply chain, and we look forward to helping it advance through Congress. In support of Senator Ossoff’s proposal, we are today setting a target of 50 gigawatts of annual domestic solar production capacity by 2030, including polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules, racking and trackers and inverters. It is time to seize the promise of American solar manufacturing.”
“We applaud Senator Jon Ossoff, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Raphael Warnock and Senator Michael Bennet for introducing legislation that invests in U.S. manufacturing jobs,” said Mark Bassett, Chairman & CEO, Hemlock Semiconductor Operations (HSC). “We believe the proposed advanced solar manufacturing production tax credit is a crucial step in building a strong American supply chain within the next decade. By incentivizing manufacturing directly, we can harness American ingenuity and continue to drive down solar deployment costs, while creating high-quality jobs in Michigan and across the country.”
Michael Parr, Executive Director of the Ultra Low-Carbon Solar Alliance said, “The Ultra Low-Carbon Solar Alliance welcomes the introduction of the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act. Expanding U.S. solar manufacturing across the supply chain is an important element of ensuring that America has a secure, resilient and sustainable source of cost-effective solar energy and positions U.S. manufacturers for a growing export market. U.S. manufacturers already make critical solar materials and finished panels, but significantly more U.S. manufacturing will be needed to ensure that the projected rapid growth in solar energy is powered by clean, sustainable solar. We congratulate Senators Ossoff, Stabenow, Warnock and Bennet for their forward-looking leadership in expanding clean energy manufacturing here at home.”
“After a decade of witnessing the systematic erosion of America’s leadership in solar innovation and manufacturing, and the corresponding over-reliance on imports from China, the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act represents a new hope for American solar. By aiming to incent domestic production of solar panels, it will help ensure that our nation’s transition to a sustainable energy future will be powered by competitive solar technology that is innovated in and made by America,” said Samantha Sloan, VP Global Policy, Marketing & Sales Operations, First Solar.
“It is clear the energy transformation is well underway, and as a result, a crucial part of our national economy is new energy technologies, like solar and storage. To support this critically important industry, we must build a major manufacturing ecosystem in the United States and this forward-looking policy solution will help make this goal a reality,” said William J. (John) Berger, Chief Executive Officer of Sunnova Energy International Inc. “The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act will support hundreds of thousands of impactful clean energy jobs while building a domestic solar supply chain that will bolster our national security and technological leadership.”
“The brilliance in this legislation is in its consideration of the entire solar manufacturing value chain. It is the type of long-term policy solution that can help attract the private sector investment required for advanced manufacturing technologies, like ours, to take root in the U.S. We still have a significant opportunity to lead through innovation, and this domestic tax credit is an excellent first step to capturing U.S. inventiveness and creating quality American jobs,” said Frank van Mierlo, CEO, 1366 Technologies.
“Rebuilding the American solar supply chain will create millions of direct and indirect PV manufacturing and installation jobs, all while simultaneously accelerating America’s ability to meet critical climate goals. With this tax credit, Leading Edge Equipment Technologies plans to build a 20 MW pilot in 2022, followed by a 1 GW single-crystal silicon wafer factory in 2023-2024. Our hope is to eventually ramp up production to 30 GW+ per year and to do this, we will need to hire and train nearly 1,000 people by 2025, and approximately 4,000 people by 2030,” said Rick Schwerdtfeger, CEO, Leading Edge Equipment Technologies. “This is a 10-year, $2.5 billion project. There is currently no wafer manufacturing capacity in the U.S., and without resolving this chokepoint, it will be near impossible to fully diversify and divest the PV supply chain from forced labor in Xinjiang. Leading Edge is the missing link needed to complete an end-to-end supply chain in the U.S., and this feat is only made possible with bold investments such as this.”
“REC Silicon praises the leading role that Senators Ossoff, Stabenow, Warnock and Bennet have taken to reshore solar manufacturing jobs here at home,” said Tore Torvund, CEO & President of REC Silicon. “The U.S. polysilicon industry represents over $10 billion in capital investment and employs thousands in high-skilled, high-wage jobs. The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act sends a strong signal that the government recognizes the importance of investing in the polysilicon industry and solar manufacturing capabilities across our nation. It is imperative that the U.S. strengthens our solar value chain, providing a market for our polysilicon and other U.S. solar manufacturers here to create a vibrant domestic solar market.”
“We appreciate Senators Ossoff, Stabenow, Warnock and Bennet for their support of high-quality good-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs in a critical and growing sector. Solar represents a key energy sector poised for immense growth in a sustainable and technologically driven manner. A comprehensive industrial policy is essential to the development of all steps within the solar supply chain. Introduction of this legislation and similar efforts help address U.S. industrial manufacturing needs and provide greater ability to develop critical capabilities in Tennessee and across the U.S,” said David Wilhoit, President and CEO of Wacker Polysilicon North America.
“This legislation is a major step toward re-shoring the upstream solar supply chain and ensuring we continue to have high-quality American-made solar products. We are excited about the opportunities theSolar Energy Manufacturing for America Act will provide to Auxin Solar and other domestic manufacturers to hire and train highly-skilled workers to bring the United States back as the leader in solar energy production, and we are grateful for the leadership of Senators Ossoff, Bennet, Stabenow and Warnock for introducing a bill that will help level the playing field,” said Mamun Rashid, CEO, Auxin Solar. “This legislation, coupled with the Biden administration’s commitment to green energy independence, will help revive our battered domestic solar supply chain.”
“Heliene and its employees are delighted to see proposed legislation in concert with the government’s Build Back Better agenda and in full support of the American Jobs Plan. The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act brings sustainability to the solar manufacturing sector and boosts employment diversification in Minnesota’s Iron Range,” said Martin Pochtaruk, President, Heliene.“This proposal propels private-public partnerships, boosting the speed of the American energy transition to a lower carbon economy. Heliene, as the solar industry’s Customer First provider, will be able to accelerate investment in the U.S. and increase its high-quality cleantech jobs.”
“Energy independence is the key to securing America’s future. Members of this coalition are pioneers of U.S. renewable energy manufacturing. The efforts of Senators Ossoff, Bennet, Stabenow and Warnock are a crucial catalyst for us to lead the world in clean energy production,” said Paul Mutchler, Director, Commercial Operations, Mission Solar Energy. “Our people, our drive and our focus on renewable energy manufacturing will benefit generations to come.”
Click here to read the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act.
Click here for a fact sheet on the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act.
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