The left-wing site Politico was surprisingly honest with this headline:
Biden is desperately trying to lure solar panel production from China to the United States with lavish subsidies. But the companies that are taking the cash and hanging a shingle are… Chinese:
When Biden and congressional Democrats passed the IRA, they hoped it would unleash a “Made-in-America” clean energy revolution. The law lavishes subsidies on companies to build factories that make solar components, in an effort to revitalize the country’s manufacturing base and wrest control of clean energy supply chains away from China.
Only now, Chinese companies are coming to America.
Trina could net almost $1.8 billion in American tax subsidies over the next seven years if it gets the Texas factory fully running by the beginning of 2025, according to analysts at the consultancy BloombergNEF.
It is hardly alone. Eight companies linked to China have spent more than $1.2 billion to build 23.6 gigawatts of module capacity since the IRA passed, according to interviews with manufacturers and a review of Energy Department figures by POLITICO’s E&E News. About 14.5 gigawatts is already online, accounting for nearly a third of U.S. panel-making capacity. A further 7 gigawatts is under construction.
What in the world are we doing? Making China Great Again?
