Scoop: Biden marries Big Labor to Big Solar
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With the support of the Biden White House, the United Steelworkers Union (USW) has established a beachhead in the domestic solar industry, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: For organized labor, it's a deeper step in unionizing an industry that's expected to explode with new positions and products, bolstered by billions of dollars in tax breaks from Biden's signature climate and clean tech legislation.
- For the White House, it's a blueprint on how to achieve two of Biden's key objectives: combating climate change and creating the next generation of union-paying jobs.
Driving the news: The Steelworkers have reached a so-called neutrality agreement with Convalt Energy, a solar company with plans to build two domestic factories, Axios has learned.
- The neutrality pact will give Convalt's employees more freedom to form a union.
What they are saying: "This is a significant breakthrough in a critical part of the US energy sector," Ali Zaidi, the White House climate adviser, told Axios.
- "It shows that companies are responding to the incentives that President Biden and Vice President Harris have put forward."
- "We are in the midst of bringing the solar manufacturing supply chain back to the United States, and given the chance, we know domestic producers can compete and win," said Hari Achuthan, the CEO of Convalt Energy.
- "Today's announcement is a tribute to the Biden-Harris administration's leadership and commitment to workers," said Roxanne Brown, vice president of the USW.
Zoom out: Democrats have been divided on the best way to bolster the domestic solar manufacturing industry while also responding to the needs of solar installers.
- In general, installers, and climate activists calling for a faster transition to clean energy, want cheap panels pronto.
- New domestic manufacturers have been pleading for more time to access the Biden's tax credits and get off the ground.
Earlier in his term, Biden sided with solar importers and overruled a Commerce Department decision that would have imposed high tariffs on cells and panels from Southeast Asian countries.
- That decision threatened to undercut domestic solar manufacturers and antagonized some Democratic senators.
- They argued that domestic solar manufacturers couldn't compete with the imports from Asia, which they claimed were subsidized.
Zoom in: In June, the White House let the two-year pause on those tariffs expire, giving domestic solar manufactures a boost.
- That decision was a part of broader get-tough-on-China approach adopted by President Biden while he was still running for reelection.
- Vice President Kamala Harris has sided with Biden on internal debates on how to approach China and supported his decision to enhance Trump's China tariffs.
What we're watching: America's resurgent semiconductor industry, which can apply for some $50 billion in grants and tax credits from the Chips and Science Act, doesn't seem terribly interested in having a unionized workforce.
- But the Biden administration is making its pro-union preference known in all industries.
- "Union density and manufacturing competitiveness go hand in hand, and that's not a thesis that applies narrowly to one sector or to one company," Zaidi said.
