Biden's solar energy emergency explained
President Joe Biden took a pair of executive actions Monday designed to speed up growth
in a slowing solar energy sector and increase the domestic manufacturing of solar panel
components, ultimately to reduce dependence on imported products.
Using his executive trade law powers, Biden declared an emergency to exempt Asian solar
cell and module products from new tariffs for a two-year period while also invoking the
Defense Production Act to increase domestic manufacturing of those products, which are
central components in the construction of most solar panel designs.
The actions were hailed by solar and other green energy trade groups, whose members
underperformed in the first quarter of the year, while U.S. solar manufacturing interests.