US solar learns to live without China
The rules, under a provision called Section 232, are designed to finally quash a cat-and-mouse game US trade officials have been playing with China for years, in which Chinese solar makers shift between factories in various Asian or African locales to stay one step ahead of American tariffs.
Key points
- At this point, the US imports almost no solar cells or other core components from China, and imports of panels from anywhere recently hit a seven-year low now that more US module assembly factories are cropping up.
- The News Washington wants to make it harder for US solar firms to rely on China.
- Because the new rules will drive up panel prices, some solar installers are panicking; at least 1 gigawatt worth of large-scale solar projects has been cancelled in recent months because of 232-related price adjustments, according to solar research firm Anza.
Additional details
- “Building something in America still takes longer and costs more than building it in most countries.” Tim’s view US President Donald Trump may not be a big fan of solar, but it’s the country’s fastest-growing source of power generation.
- Standing up an independent domestic solar supply chain is critical to the country’s energy security and AI ambitions, and to lowering power prices, especially as Beijing moves to restrict the export of some key solar technologies.
- T1 operates a sprawling, cutting-edge solar module factory on the outskirts of Dallas, and is a few months away from finishing a second factory to manufacture its own cells based on technology that was first developed for the Chinese firms it’s looking to supplant.
- But that was scrapped after Barcelo spotted a better deal in solar, where there were only a few domestic manufacturers at a moment when demand was exploding and Chinese firms, who could see a US crackdown coming, were looking to pull up stakes.
- He pivoted, and agreed in December 2024 to a $621 million deal to buy the Dallas factory, along with supply contracts and other assets, from Changzhou-based Trina Solar, one of the world’s biggest producers, which had just completed building it.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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