Relief may be on the way for Oregon鈥檚 solar industry, which has been hampered in recent months by a federal trade investigation.
President Joe Biden on Monday on the solar industry. The move is expected to restart the flow of cheaper panels and parts into U.S. ports. Solar workers in Oregon are welcoming the decision and say they hope it will ease a panel shortage that has delayed or killed hundreds of solar projects nationwide.
鈥淲hile not a complete resolution, the 24 months will allow solar projects to continue and time for the market to find a solution,鈥� said Angela Crowley-Koch, executive director of the Oregon Solar and Storage Industries Association, in an email.
The U.S. Department of Commerce in March launched an investigation into manufacturers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which supply about 80% of the solar panels imported by the U.S. The agency seeks to determine in order to avoid tariffs.
If the Commerce Department finds panels from the manufacturers in question are indeed subject to tariffs, those duties could have been retroactively applied to panels purchased after the probe began.
The threat of retroactive tariffs halted most imports of solar panels into the U.S., sending prices on stateside products skyrocketing. Biden鈥檚 announcement temporarily eliminates that threat, which should allow prices to settle and the market to stabilize.
Mike August with CED Greentech in Portland and Bend said the president鈥檚 decision provides clarity to solar importers and distributors.
鈥淧ricing markets can get more efficient information to say, 鈥極K, we have this much material now coming,鈥欌�� August said. 鈥淲here before it was, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 know how much we鈥檙e going to release.鈥欌��
Ryan Sheehy of Fleet Development in Enterprise had orders canceled as the Commerce investigation got underway. That forced his company to push back timelines on some larger projects such as the Verde Light Power Project in Ontario.
Sheehy said the president鈥檚 announcement, while positive, will not allow the company to finish Verde in 2022 as he had hoped before the investigation started. However, Sheehy added that many projects 鈥� in Oregon and elsewhere 鈥� that might have otherwise been canceled can now resume.
鈥淧eople who wouldn鈥檛 sell us [solar] modules yesterday, will today,鈥� Sheehy said.
The trade investigation was prompted by a petition from a small solar manufacturer in California, Auxin Solar, which claimed the alleged tariff evasion by Chinese companies was weakening U.S. manufacturing.
In Monday鈥檚 announcement, Biden also invoked the Defense Production Act to encourage more manufacturing of solar panels and parts in the U.S. The two-year pause on tariffs will create a 鈥渂ridge,鈥� the White House said, to continue building solar projects while domestic manufacturing scales up.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo Monday that the agency will continue its investigation, but applauded the president鈥檚 actions.
鈥淚 remain committed to upholding our trade laws and ensuring American workers have a chance to compete on a level playing field,鈥� Raimondo said. 鈥淭he President鈥檚 emergency declaration ensures America鈥檚 families have access to reliable and clean electricity while also ensuring we have the ability to hold our trading partners accountable to their commitments.鈥�
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