[涡流]First Solar首席执行官警告关税豁免威胁美国太阳能制造业 expansion

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2022 年 7 月 8 日，俄亥俄州佩里斯堡 First Solar 的一名工人正在将胶带贴在太阳能电池板上。

梅根·杰林格 |

路透社

First Solar

表示，大量外国太阳能组件威胁到在美国建立国内制造基地以支持清洁能源转型的努力

首席执行官马克·维德玛。

维德玛在接受 CNBC 采访时表示，美国应该取消允许廉价零部件进入美国市场的关税豁免。

First Solar 是美国最大的太阳能电池板制造商，专注于大型公用事业规模项目。

维德玛表示：“我们想要的只是能够凭借自己的优势进行竞争，如果美国市场存在倾销现象，就应该予以解决。”

“一旦解决，我们希望它得到执行。”

美国使用的一种常见类型的太阳能电池板被排除在旨在保护国内太阳能制造的第 201 条关税之外，并且对从几个东南亚国家进口的太阳能组件暂停征收关税。

虽然一些行业利益相关者支持这些豁免，以帮助扩大美国的太阳能发电容量，但维德玛表示，这些豁免正在破坏《通货膨胀削减法案》的目标。

利用漏洞

维德玛表示：“我们正在努力做的事情的初衷——创建一个能够实现长期能源独立和安全的国内产业，以实现气候变化目标，并通过拥有国内能力实现创新循环——都面临着风险。”说。

“这很不幸，但这很大程度上就是正在发生的事情。”

拜登政府于2022年延长了特朗普政府最初征收的201条款关税，但进口双面太阳能电池板（双面吸收光线）不包括在关税范围内。

在去年8月结束的一项调查中，美国商务部发现，一些中国公司通过柬埔寨、马来西亚、泰国和越南等国家运输太阳能电池和组件，从而规避美国的反倾销保护。

但乔·拜登总统于 2022 年 6 月决定免除这些东南亚国家两年的太阳能关税，这意味着尽管商务部得出了结论，但并未对一些中国生产商执行处罚。

去年春天，拜登否决了对柬埔寨、马来西亚和泰国太阳能组件征收关税的立法。

总统在否决信息中将豁免描述为帮助扩大美国太阳能发电能力所需的“临时桥梁”

Though the exemption expires this June, Widmar said 30 to 40 gigawatts of excess product has made its way in to the U.S. market, which is equivalent to almost a full year of consumption.

"What this is doing is it's not allowing these domestic companies to scale," Widmar said.

The First Solar CEO said he is also worried that Chinese companies will exploit IRA tax credits, particularly the 7 cents per watt for solar modules, to set up assembly plants in the U.S. that do not move the ball forward in terms of technological innovation.

"What you've done is you've given the Chinese the opportunity to exploit the Inflation Reduction Act," Widmar said.

A White House spokesperson wasn't immediately available to comment.

A buffer against volatility

First Solar is largely insulated from the current market dynamics because the company is booked solid through at least 2026, Widmar said. The company has intentionally overbooked to provide a buffer against the volatility in the solar market, he said.

While the residential solar sector has been walloped by high interest rates, First Solar has outperformed with its focus on utility-scale projects. The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) has fallen than 18% this year, while First Solar's stock is down just over 6%.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

First Solar shares over the past year.

Electricity demand on the grid was largely flat up until 2020, but has now hit an inflection point with power needs expected to grow substantially through the end of this decade, Widmar said. Large data centers are using more power due to the emergence of artificial intelligence, and other factors such as cryptocurrencies, the electrification of vehicles, and the onshoring of manufacturing in the U.S. are contributing to demand growth, he said.

"That drives need for hundreds of megawatts for solar power plants," Widmar said. "That means you need more utility-scale generation and you couple that with the continued ramp down of fossil fuels, coal power plants and even nuclear."

First Solar operates three factories in Ohio with two more plants slated to open in Louisiana and Alabama. The company sources its material in the U.S. and is not dependent on Chinese supply chains, Widmar said.

The CEO said domestic manufacturing provides certainty in a world where supply chains are being disrupted by geopolitical tensions, such as those in the Red Sea, and uncertain trade policies.

"The best way I can provide them certainty is to manufacture in the U.S. with a U.S. supply chain," he said.

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