Senators, Congressman Push to Keep Solar Jobs in U.S.

Following closely on the heels of Evergreen’s decision to outsource to China, a quartet of legislators representing three different states and both sides of the political spectrum introduced earlier this week a bill intended to bolster solar manufacturing jobs in the United States. A bipartisan piece of legislation supported by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act aims to provide a tax credit, which is intended to encourage more American solar companies to produce solar equipment stateside.

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), as well as U.S. Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI), publicized the legislation on Tuesday, though Congressman Camp will not be introducing companion legislation to the House until later in November. With huge, recession-fighting hopes pinned to the widespread growth, adoption and utilization of renewable energy—a report from last week estimated that clean energy could produce up to 850,000 manufacturing jobs in the U.S.—the bill is the most recent push from legislators to spur solar production at home. Over the past decade, the U.S. has gone from producing over 40 percent of the world’s solar photovoltaic cells to producing a paltry 5 percent, according to SEIA—a trend that the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act hopes to directly challenge, particularly since SEIA declares it capable of creating 315,000 U.S.

However, keeping solar businesses away from cheaper (and consequently more cost-effective) pastures is easier said than done, especially when the bottom line comes into view.

“There is a lot of capacity going in the ground in Asia. But I think as companies do their own homework and do cost comparison it is compelling that the costs in China or low — low capital costs, low labor costs, low overhead costs,” said Evergreen Solar’s chief executive Richard Feldt on a conference call with analysts.

Our ears: we’ll keep ‘em close to the ground.