White House officials held discussions with some solar power companies on Tuesday to push the Biden administration's plan to wean itself off imports for domestic clean energy projects and strengthen U.S. manufacturing of solar panels.
Bloomberg reported on June 14, citing a number of people familiar with the matter, that more than 20 industry representatives attended the meeting, which lasted about an hour and aimed to clarify Biden's plan to invoke the "Defense Production Act" to promote domestic manufacturing of solar panels.
White House officials, including White House deputy national climate adviser Ali Zaidi, who hosted the meeting, reportedly said the meeting was the start of a push for more solar panels to be made in the United States. The Defense Production Act is said to be just one of the policy options the Biden administration is seeking to expand the domestic solar supply chain.
The report pointed out that the meeting did not relieve manufacturers who questioned the lack of funds of Biden's plan. Prior to this, the Biden administration announced on June 6 that it would grant a 24-month import tariff exemption for solar modules purchased from the four Southeast Asian countries.
Samantha Sloan, vice president of global policy at U.S. PV leader First Solar, said the meeting "only shows that there is a worrying disconnect between the reality of solar manufacturing and the government's understanding of key issues."
Representatives from companies including Jinko Solar, Hanwha Q Cells and Auxin Solar attended the meeting, Bloomberg reported, citing two sources.
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