Step won't help reduce US solar imports

Last week's guideline of the US Treasury Department allowing only US-based solar developers to secure tax credits, would barely affect the country's reliance on Chinese supplies, considering the limited production capacity in the United States, industry experts said.

On Friday, the US government, seeking to speed up reshoring of clean energy supply chains, issued new guideline that would allow only US-based solar developers to secure tax credits offered via the Inflation Reduction Act if they made their cells domestically.

While some investors may see the guideline as a boon for solar manufacturers in the US, others may feel it would do little in the short term to reduce the US dependence on imports from China, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.