BloombergNEF's Ethan Zindler discusses how different solar manufacturers will benefit from the IRA's production tax credits.
Opinion
Zindler: Subsidized US solar manufacturing is not guaranteed to beat Southeast Asia
“I don't think it's by any means a slam dunk that the U.S. Will be the lowest cost, you know, will, you know, it will fight to be competitive with Southeast Asian nations to produce this stuff. Even with these subsidies, I don't know that that's for certain tha…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Zindler: Grid interconnection, not price, will be solar's primary constraint
“It's whether you can get interconnection and get onto the grid. That is the, that is going to be really the limiting factor going forward. So all these other things are really cool, but like, you can add them, you can stack them, you can get a lot of benefit, …”
Assertion Supported
Zindler: 80% to 85% of US Solar Equipment Came From Four Southeast Asian Countries
“About 80, 85% of All the equipment that was being installed in the U.S. Was coming from those four countries, and given that we don't make much stuff in the U.S., imports are massively important”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Zindler: US will likely need to import skilled solar engineering talent
“Actually, when we talk about imports, like, we're probably going to have to import more, you know you know, very, very well-skilled and engineered folks you know, and capable folks to do a lot of this stuff over here.”
Opinion
Zindler: The IRA is the most important solar legislation ever passed
“We have the most important piece of legislation ever passed to support the solar industry that is being rolled out and implemented now with a lot of open questions around that.”
Assertion Supported
Zindler: COVID-era solar supply chain bottlenecks and high prices are easing
“The era of COVID and the tight supply chains and the elevated prices that it created that's easing now. And there's a lot of new capacity on the global market that is coming.”