CNN
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Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm claimed on Thursday the administration is “working on a number of things” to aid a panicked solar industry that is seeing projects grind to a halt amid a Commerce Division tariffs probe.
“I know the administration is doing the job on a number of points I want I could give you extra,” Granholm advised reporters. “But stay tuned on that. The quicker the better.”
Photo voltaic tasks all around the country have have been halted as the Commerce Division investigates a declare that lots of of the photo voltaic panels and sections imported into the US use parts from China that should really be issue to US tariffs.
Extra than 300 solar initiatives in the US had previously been delayed or canceled as of late April, in accordance to a survey by the Photo voltaic Strength Industries Affiliation, a non-gain trade team. Photo voltaic CEOs advised CNN they be expecting additional cancellations to abide by, and concern the probe could devastate the photo voltaic workforce.
Granholm reported she was “deeply concerned” about the nation’s capacity to deploy the quantity of photo voltaic wanted to meet President Joe Biden’s 2035 intention for 100% cleanse electric power.
“There’s a drive not to stress, of system, a [Commerce] quasi-judicial continuing, but of study course there is deep worry about how prolonged this normally takes,” she extra. “That’s why I consider the administration is on the lookout at other alternatives.”
Granholm did not give much more specifics on the articles or timing of the possibilities the administration was hunting at.
She additional that she understood Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s “hands are tied” undergoing the photo voltaic tariff investigation. Commerce officers have stated the investigation is slated to have its preliminary discovering by late August, but its ultimate perseverance could get for a longer time.
The investigation was introduced following 1 small US-dependent company, Auxin Solar, filed a grievance in February. Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid told CNN before this month that the complaint “was existential” for his firm.
“When prices of completed panels from Southeast Asia arrive in beneath our invoice of products expense, American brands simply cannot compete,” Rashid mentioned, adding that “if international producers are circumventing U.S. legislation and producing harm to U.S. producers like Auxin Solar, it demands to be resolved.”