Apr 27, 2022 · 21m · green-blueprint
How one company could crush the US solar industry
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of The Carbon Copy, host Stephen Lacey and journalist Eric Westhoff investigate how a tariff petition by small California manufacturer Auxin Solar halted nationwide clean energy projects, exposing the deep conflict between protectionist trade policies and America's urgent solar deployment goals.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 6.4 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 1.6 The hosts pushing back 0.8
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:47 Critique of political rhetoric and administration mixed signals
Westhoff directly attacks federal trade policy, arguing that political leaders undercut their own clean energy agenda with empty rhetoric while gutting the solar industry.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 16:50 Host challenges viability of US manufacturing ambitionsLacey forcefully questions whether the US should simply wave the white flag on domestic manufacturing given deep structural supply chain deficits.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 17:35 Stark contrast of US versus Chinese gigawatt scaleWesthoff gives precise industry data showing China's 300 GW manufacturing capacity against the US's 7 GW, illustrating the insurmountable scale gap.
The host holds their own ▶ 16:50 Comprehensive breakdown of domestic manufacturing deficitsLacey demonstrates high-level subject matter fluency by detailing intricate supply chain gaps, lack of workforce clusters, and technological limitations facing US battery and solar manufacturing.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Podcast Survey Announcement and 'As She Rises' Spotlight | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Lacey introduces the episode with a detailed narrative framing of Auxin Solar's trade petition and Westhoff's reporting. The dynamic is fully collaborative as Westhoff describes his on-the-ground reporting in San Jose. | |
| The Decadelong History of US Solar Tariffs and Protectionism | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Lacey leads the narrative on the historical evolution of solar tariffs from the 2009 stimulus package through the Solyndra controversy and Trump-era measures. Westhoff chimes in to affirm that bipartisan protectionism has persisted across multiple administrations. | |
| Deployment Versus Manufacturing: The Economic Realities of US Solar | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Lacey questions why tariffs dominate political discourse when the US solar sector is overwhelmingly an installation industry. Westhoff educates on the economic disparity, comparing US solar manufacturing unviability to iPhone manufacturing. | |
| Market Freeze and Project Cancellations Facing Solar Developers | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Lacey lays out how supply chain bottlenecks and political cross-pressures squeeze the Biden administration. Westhoff cites trade group surveys showing that 65% of planned US solar projects are frozen due to tariff risks. | |
| Global Scale Disparities and Legislative Solutions Like SEMA | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Lacey challenges the premise of trying to retain domestic manufacturing and asks if the US should wave the white flag. Westhoff pushes back slightly on the surrender framing while delivering stark data on China's 300 GW capacity versus the US's 7 GW. |
Statements from this episode (16)
Lacey: Auxin Solar's factory has a 150-megawatt annual capacity
“That factory has the capability to pump out a 150 megawatts of solar panels a year. That's a hundred times less than the biggest solar manufacturers.”
Westhoff: Auxin Solar froze the $10 billion US solar market
“In a world where Chinese manufacturers are at gigawatt and 10 gigawatt and 50 gigawatt capacities, aux and solar is relatively inconsequential on the world stage, and yet they're still able to essentially freeze the ten billion dollar U.S. Solar industry.”
Lacey: Political Backlash Over Solyndra Was "Incredibly Stupid" Theater
“This was an incredibly stupid piece of political theater.”
Westhoff: Solar Protectionism Unites Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations
“We've seen them enacted during the Obama administration, we've seen them during the Trump administration, and we've seen them continued under the Biden administration. Turns out there's one thing that they can all agree on is, ah, protectionism.”
Lacey: 75% of US Solar Panels Are Imported from Asia
“Three-quarters of the panels installed here come from Asia.”
Westhoff: US Solar Industry Employs Four Times More People Than Coal
“It's gone from a couple of hundred million dollars a year to being a 10 or twelve billion dollar a year market that employs 200,000 people. That's four times as many as is employed by the coal industry.”
Westhoff: Tariffs Give the US the World's Highest Solar Module Costs
“In fact, the United States has the highest cost solar modules in the world because we are taxing ourselves with tariffs.”
Westhoff: US Is No More Suited to Solar Manufacturing Than iPhones
“However, I have to say that the United States is no more suitable to solar manufacturing than it is to iPhone manufacturing.”
Westhoff: US Energy Transition Cannot Happen Without Imports
“The energy transition does not happen in the United States without imports.”
Westhoff: Auxin Solar Is an Uncompetitive Manufacturer Seeking Government Aid
“I would suggest that they are just an uncompetitive manufacturer looking for any help they can get.”
Westhoff: Solar manufacturers halt US shipments over retroactive tariff risk
“Not only is it raising prices for power purchase agreements, not only is it causing paroxysms within the developer world, But it's causing manufacturers to stop shipping to the United States because they're afraid of tariffs, and more importantly, retroactive …”
Westhoff: 65% of 2022-2023 US solar projects threatened by tariff probe
“Surveys by industry groups, whether it be SEIA or American Clean Power have found that 65% of the projects that are on the books in the United States in 20, 22 and 23 are threatened.”
Lacey: 90% of US Solar Jobs Are Tied to Project Construction
“So the threat of tariffs that will make equipment more expensive and difficult to get, that is not going over well for the U.S. Solar industry, where 90% of jobs are tied to building solar projects.”
Westhoff: Biden Clean Energy Promises Are Empty Rhetoric Under Solar Tariffs
“And Biden is also a union man, and there's a union aspect to keeping manufacturing going in the United States, and so Biden has to balance that out, but it's empty rhetoric if you're going to cut the industry off at its ankles with a tariff, and to then say we…”
Westhoff: US Solar Manufacturing Capacity Is 7 GW Versus China's 300 GW
“Just to give you an idea of the scale, the United States has a capacity of about seven gigawatts of solar manufacturing, whereas China has a manufacturing capacity of about three 300 gigawatts of solar manufacturing. One company, Longi Solar, has a manufacturi…”