It may be the height of summer but there’s no respite for the Solar Media Podcast, the new episode of which is packed full of insight as the US begins its clampdown on solar imports.
Liam Stoker recaps recent policy moves in the US and explores the difficult balancing act President Biden must now face between stimulating domestic solar manufacturing in the US and supporting solar deployment.
Reports have emerged alleging that US officials have begun detaining solar module shipments suspected of infringing the withhold and release order (WRO) implemented in June.
Petitions have been filed in the US requesting the launch of investigations into several solar manufacturers accused of circumventing antidumping and countervailing duties by using entities based in Southeast Asia.
The US Senate has passed the landmark bipartisan infrastructure bill, paving the way for US$1.2 trillion of investment into the nation’s infrastructure.
Solar sales and design software provider Aurora Solar is to bolster its offering by acquiring Folsom Labs, the developer of HelioScope, a solar design software solution aimed at the commercial sector.
In the wake of the US Withhold and Release Order and other sanctions targeting alleged forced labour in solar supply chains, Graham Vinter, Ursula Owczarkowski and Sarah Bishop of law firm Covington & Burling LLP explore the legal status quo and the options at hand for solar companies to mitigate contractual risk.
US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has failed in a bid to fast-track the US’ US$1.2 trillion infrastructure investment bill through the Senate. But there remains hope that further progress could be made as early as next Monday, when some Republican senators believe the bill will be fit to proceed.
Earlier this week the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published its 2021 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) document, detailing the continued reduction in the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of the country’s core generators. Liam Stoker takes a look at the data and discusses just how cheap solar, and solar-storage, could become.
Legislation that would ban the import of all products from China’s Xinjiang region into the US has taken a critical step forward, passing the US Senate.
