Clean Energy CEOs Urge Biden to Repeal Solar Tariffs

Seventeen renewable energy CEOs are calling on President Joe Biden to rescind the Trump administration’s October 2020 solar proclamation that increased tariffs on solar panels and rescinded the exclusion for bifacial solar panels.

Led by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and supported by the American Clean Power Association (ACP), the letter calls attention to the proclamation’s impact on existing solar contracts and discusses how harmful the Section 201 tariffs are to the U.S. economy and the industry’s ability to address climate change. Importantly, the CEOs are asking Biden to return the tariffs to status quo and restore business certainty.

“Billions of dollars of solar contracts are now at risk because of the October 10 proclamation,” says Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA. “As we confront the numerous economic and climate challenges ahead, the president has the opportunity to build a clean energy economy with millions of well-paying jobs, strengthen our nation’s infrastructure, bolster domestic manufacturing and uplift communities across the U.S. Removing tariffs is the first step to achieving this vision.”

The letter comes as clean energy companies continue to feel the effects of the tariffs. According to analysis from SEIA, the tariffs have led to a loss of 62,000 jobs, $19 billion in lost private sector investment and a 26 million metric ton increase in carbon emissions.

The clean energy industry and its partners remain committed to long-term policies that can boost domestic manufacturing, such as increased federal procurement opportunities for U.S. equipment manufacturers and tax credits to help incentivize private sector investments in domestic manufacturing.

SEIA and ACP say they will continue to work with the Biden administration and other organizations to put Americans back to work and create more opportunities for homegrown solar products.