ACP Applauds President Biden’s Bold Action to Reinvigorate the Domestic Solar Industry

WASHINGTON DC, June 6, 2022 –– Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), today issued a statement regarding President Biden’s use of executive action to incentivize domestic solar manufacturing and restore predictability to the solar industry: 

“President Biden’s proclamation today to use the full power of executive authority to jumpstart the domestic solar industry is a bold act of leadership. It recognizes the immediate need to protect middle-class American jobs, promote U.S. energy independence, protect consumers from rising electricity bills in the face of inflation, and stay true to his climate commitments.”  

Zichal went on to say, “The President’s announcement will rejuvenate the construction and domestic manufacturing of solar power by restoring predictability and business certainty that the Department of Commerce’s flawed inquiry has disrupted. This action is necessary due to the inconsistent and archaic regulatory process at the Department of Commerce that has frozen the U.S. solar industry. Alongside over 100 Governors and Members of Congress, the American Clean Power Association continues to call on Secretary Raimondo to conclude the inquiry swiftly and to use the Secretary’s legal authority to reaffirm a decade of precedent previously set by the Department of Commerce. 

“The U.S. solar industry is actively making investments to further increase the scale of the domestic manufacturing sector, including recent announcements to expand U.S. module production facilities, create new manufacturing plants for components like steel trackers, and work with allied trading partners to unlock the potential for inputs (like polysilicon) from the United States. As one example, ACP has exclusively learned that a large U.S. developer is pursuing a domestic solar panel manufacturing facility that could have up to 5GW of production. Panel production at this facility would begin by the fall of 2023 and would put 1,000 American workers on the job building America’s clean energy future. 

“The President’s actions today make those investments possible, and the policies contained in the reconciliation bill would only hasten the pace of building a more robust domestic solar manufacturing sector. 

“The American Clean Power Association applauds the President’s leadership and stands ready to work with the Administration and Congress to deliver on the President’s vision of a clean energy future. It is the only path forward to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, drastically increase domestic manufacturing, and keep consumers’ electricity bills low while avoiding the worst economic and human impacts from climate change. As the country enters yet another summer of record temperatures, the Administration must use every tool it has to enable the domestic production of reliable, clean, and affordable energy.”