An amendment to the bill authorizing military spending for 2011 now requires that all solar equipment purchased by the Department of Defense be manufactured in the United States. But in the face of stiff international competition for some solar manufacturers — Evergreen Solar closed its Massachusetts plant because of Chinese competition and Chinese imports are on the rise — can this Buy American provision help boost domestic production of solar equipment?
While the military is a growing market for the solar energy industry, solar equipment manufacturing “is a global business and companies are making their decisions where to manufacture on a number of factors,” Monique Hannis said, a spokesperson for the Solar Energy Industries Association said.
Hannis noted that over the past three years, global manufactures have actually begun to locate plants in the United States to be closer to the US domestic market. Companies like SolarWorld, Schott Solar, and SunTech have moved factories from Europe and China to the United States in that time.
The “Buy American” amendment, added to the bill by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), states that every contract awarded by the Department of Defense must include language guaranteeing that all “photovoltaic devices” provided to the department comply with the 1933 Buy American Act, which requires federal procurement contracts to have at least 50% of a procurement produced in America — with very few exceptions.
Mike Morosi, a spokesperson for Hinchey, said that the amendment closed a loophole in the Buy American Act which does not cover companies subcontracted to fill government procurements. “Oftentimes when the Department of Defense is purchasing energy equipment, they’re not buying solar panels directly,” Morosi said.
The amendment also clarifies that equipment permanently leased to the department or installed in a facility owned by the department is considered to be procured by the department and subject to the Buy American requirements.
Why is the amendment specific to only solar equipment? Morosi said, “Improving the domestic production of solar energy throughout the United States has long been a priority for Congressman Hinchey. While this provision is limited to solar energy, in the future, it may be worth bringing subcontracts for other forms of energy production into accordance with Buy American provisions.”
In August 2010, solar companies employed approximately 93,000 workers in the United States, according to report by the Solar Foundation and Cornell Univeristy. The industry expects to add 24,000 new jobs by August 2011.
