President Biden’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) admitted during his confirmation hearing that the United States is at a distinct disadvantage in the clean energy market because most of the parts necessary for solar energy and green vehicles are made in China.
During his confirmation hearing last Wednesday, Michael Regan, Mr. Biden’s nominee to head the EPA, was questioned by Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), about China’s complete disregard for the goals of green activists on the issue of climate change.
Regan referred to his time at the head of the State of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, admitting that while North Carolina is a leader in “solar installation,” most of the parts required for any installation are made in China.
“What we find is most of the parts we want to install come from China,” Regan said during his testimony. “We’re finding that if we don’t capture the market, we’re going to fall behind. I believe that’s the same for solar, as it is for cars.”
Now that Joe Biden is destroying US fossil fuel projects, John Kerry says the unemployed workers "can be the people that go to work to make the solar panels." But solar panel makers will remain in China–because China's mines and factories are cheaply powered by fossil fuels.
— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) January 28, 2021
Mr. Biden’s climate team has argued that green energy job gains will offset employment losses among fossil fuel workers.
“You look at solar panels, you look at wind turbines, how they’re made. China, we know from everything that they do being state capitalists – they’re going to do things to put their industries at a competitive edge and reap the benefits while they’re polluting the air,” Sen. Braun told reporters. “There’s a lot we need to be careful with.”
Derek Scissors, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said China controls approximately 60 percent of the solar industry’s supply chain. China is the chief producer at 75 percent of polysilicon, a critical raw material in the manufacturing of solar cells.
“If the administration wants to greatly increase the use of solar, it faces the problem that China spends heavily to dominate world solar production. Either we’d have to rely on Chinese suppliers when ramping up solar or the administration would have to use legal means to secure the supply chain,” Scissors said. “In this sense, solar reflects the larger challenge facing ‘build back better.’ The final stage of production may not be that important.”
China controls 50-70% of lithium, cobalt and polysilicon and is aggressively acquiring other materials to make batteries and solar panels. As we move to electric vehicles, we are essentially shifting control of transportation fuels from OPEC to China.https://t.co/lm8yBUEIuF
— Infinite Unknown (@SecretNews) February 1, 2021
In a statement to reporters, an EPA spokesperson said the agency is “committed to delivering on the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to build a clean energy future that creates good-paying jobs for Americans.”
