This is your SolarWakeup for April 7th, 2022

DC Can’t Get Enough Tariffs. Each of the last three administrations sitting in the White House has added or reupped tariffs on solar, the addiction to the policy is bipartisan. The problem is twofold, first it doesn’t work. Second, the investigation and threat of tariff with an unknown cap is worse than the tariff itself in most cases. In all cases, the tariffs don’t do anything to actually create an industry like manufacturing and mostly harm those that need to use the product. In solar, the tariffs cost all taxpayers more through tax credits, slow the pace of job growth in every aspect of the ecosystem and hardly improve the assembly value chain. It’s easy to say that Biden has done nothing for solar when the last administration did far worse and had no expectation to be helpful. So let’s drop that talking point because it’s simply flawed and weak to argue. Instead let’s talk about what would help create the local ecosystem ripe for upstream manufacturing and that’s tax credits or expanded deductions. As the former CEO of a domestic manufacturer that was impacted by tariffed commodity in aluminum, the key incentive that would have helped us grow even more was a tax credit for direct factory labor. Instead of deducting the hourly wage for the business, let direct labor costs in the factory be a credit to the tax liability. And that’s an idea that goes beyond solar, it’s a driver that would help manufacturing in all sectors especially with shipping costs where they are today.

Opinion

Best, Yann