Relying on Asia for imports could pose a risk to U.S. solar growth, a top Department of Energy official told Axios in an interview, Jael Holzman reports.
Why it matters: The department is shedding light on where it believes there is risk in the solar supply chain (China) — and where there isn’t — ahead of aggressive oversight from House Republicans.
What they’re saying: “There are certainly supply chain risks that come from having manufacturing concentrated in China and Southeast Asia,” DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office director Becca Jones-Albertus said.
- “We certainly want a more diverse geographic footprint and we would really like to have more of that here at home.”
The big picture: Chinese parts are getting riskier for U.S. solar firms.
- The Commerce Department recently found that some of the largest solar module suppliers — all operating in China — are illegally dodging U.S. anti-dumping tariffs by routing shipments through other Asian countries.
Yes, but: Jones-Albertus said solar has one big advantage over other low-carbon products: There’s no shortage of the minerals it needs.
- Raw materials for making solar technology — like quartz — are found in abundance domestically, and around the world, so solar may not face the kinds of resource shortage problems befuddling batteries.
