‘Really tough’ for U.S. solar industry to compete with China

Representatives of the Department of Energy and Department of Commerce told attendees at RE+, an energy trade conference recently held in Southern California, that the U.S. solar supply chain faces severe hurdles. One hurdle is that other countries are acting in ways that are “not economic.”

Arthur Haubenstock, a chief strategy advisor at the Department of Energy, said: 

It’s going to be really tough for the U.S. supply chain …. to compete against other countries that are acting in ways that are not economic, or that are hiding subsidies or have lower worker standards or lower environmental standards.

The DOE has announced another $40 million for research and development to attempt to improve the lifetime of solar panels. That’s all well and good, but technological advances may not occur soon enough to make stated timelines for net-zero to work out. It would be foolhardy to assume advances in technology will make up the gaps.

Those “other countries” acting in “not economic” ways are predominantly China, which dominates mining and processing of most critical minerals. There is a compelling national security interest in reshoring mineral supply chains and the processing and manufacturing of the technology needed to meet the U.S.’s ambitious energy transition timelines.

China has proven itself willing to impose restrictions and tariffs on trade. As recently as August, China announced export restrictions on antimony, which is crucial for many military applications. The U.S. relies on China for 63% of its antimony. 

U.S. counter-tariffs on critical minerals and solar panel components may not make sense, according to Array Technologies CEO Kevin Hostetler. “The threat of duties alone can cause major disruption to the solar industry and hurt manufacturers like Array that rely on a thriving market to do business.” Others, however, including the renewable energy lead at the Department of Commerce, sees it this way: “There’s this flood of imports, and I just want to make sure everybody’s aware of that, and all of the talk of tariffs – actually, we don’t have a problem with importing. We have a problem with protecting domestic manufacturers from unfair prices.”

But it isn’t just China that the U.S. needs to worry about. Karina Lipsman, a visiting fellow at IWF’s Center for American Safety and Security (CASS), outlines the issues at stake in Ukraine:

Ukraine holds Europe’s largest recoverable supply of these critical materials, along with substantial lithium reserves valued between $3 trillion and $11.5 trillion. Many of these resources, including beryllium and niobium, are located in areas currently under Russian control or near conflict zones, such as Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kirovohrad. 

Ukraine is a leading producer of gallium. The self-driving cars and iPhone Ultras that so many Americans use today can not be produced without it. This mineral is the very foundation of America’s semiconductor supply chain. 

Ukraine also holds vast, confirmed deposits of beryllium — an element critical to the survival of nuclear power, rockets to space, military defense capabilities, and acoustic and electronic industries (think sonar) — as well as uranium, which is indispensable to our power grid and the military Triad. Zirconium and apatite, essential for everyday medical hospital needs, are also at risk. 

China’s “lower worker standards” also include slavery of Uyghurs, a Turkish-speaking minority in China, who have faced severe discrimination and forced labor in internment camps. 

The U.S. ought to be asking itself if an “energy transition” should occur at all if it is at the cost of procuring solar panels and raw materials from a country oppressing its citizens to make them. 

This piece was originally published by Independent Women’s Forum on September 19, 2024.