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America’s biggest renewables developer has warned President Joe Biden against imposing more trade tariffs on Chinese clean energy technology because it risks slowing the green transition.
Rebecca Kujawa, CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, told the Financial Times that the tariffs raise costs for consumers and make it harder to meet the country’s clean energy goals.
“It adds to the level of uncertainty,” Kujawa said.
“Any uncertainties in the development process could certainly cause higher costs for customers and make it more difficult to get some of the clean energy goals the Biden administration has across the finish line.”
NextEra’s statement adds to a series of complaints from industry groups and developers, which warn that the new tariffs will slow and increase the cost of decarbonization.
Last month, the Biden administration imposed a round of tariffs on Chinese cleantech to protect nascent US industries after warning that cheap imports were making it harder for manufacturers to operate, even with subsidies from the landmark inflation-reduction law.
On June 7, the US International Trade Commission voted unanimously to continue investigating a petition filed by a group of solar equipment manufacturers, including First Solar and Qcells, calling for anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar cell manufacturers in Southeast Asia, where the US sources most of its panels.
“Trade facilitation is vital for incremental growth in this industry. Without that, the subject imports will take over the U.S. market,” said Laura El-Sabaawi, a Wiley Rein partner representing the petitioners at the May ITC hearing.
The potential new tariffs have sharply divided the industry between large domestic producers, who say they need to compete with cheap imports from Asia, and operators, who warn the tariffs will raise the price of renewables due to limited domestic supply.
“If solar is seen as a product that has very uncertain costs, it’s hard for customers to commit to the technology,” said Jim Murphy, CEO of Invenergy, a U.S. renewables developer that makes panels with Chinese manufacturer Longi in Ohio .
“We don’t have domestic production here, so why should we impose tariffs on imports?”
The tariffs underscore the difficult balancing act facing the Biden administration as it seeks to green the world’s largest economy while building a supply chain for clean technologies, much of which is made in China.
“At this point in the US, there is an inherent tension between Chinese policy and climate policy,” said Herbert Crowther, an analyst at Eurasia Group, adding that the tariffs will lead to a “slower and short-term rollout” until the domestic industry develops. .
“In the U.S. political context, in the end, China policy sells a lot more than climate policy.”
Expectations of soaring power demand from AI data centers and manufacturing have increased pressure on the US grid to decarbonize. According to the American Clean Energy Association, the United States installed 5.6 GW of new solar, wind and battery systems in the first quarter of 2024, up 28 percent from the same period last year.
The White House has set a goal of 80 percent renewable energy generation by the end of the decade and 100 percent by 2035, up from just over 20 percent last year.
Kujawa also warned lawmakers against politicizing clean energy and emphasized its role in economic development. NextEra, based in Juno Beach, Fla., has transformed itself into a renewables behemoth over the past decade in a Republican-controlled state that has rallied against prioritizing climate change mitigation. Earlier this week, NextEra announced that it will double its existing renewable capacity by 2027, deploying 37GW-47GW.
“Renewables have accelerated economic development in local communities,” Kujawa said. “If we don’t contribute to the politicization, the reality of real economic development, real customer value can shine through.”
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