Canary Media senior editor Eric Wesoff explains the latest in a history of solar PV trade disputes involving the U.S. and China, and what it could mean for the growth of solar power and domestic solar manufacturing.
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In April, a coalition of U.S. photovoltaics manufacturers petitioned the Department of Commerce to impose anti-dumping tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries. The move is the latest in a long history of solar trade disputes involving China and, more recently, Chinese PV manufacturers operating throughout Asia.

Canary Media senior editor Eric Wesoff explains the foundations of the latest complaint, and how this case is substantively different from earlier trade disputes including the Auxin Solar case of 2022. He explores the competing priorities of the domestic solar manufacturing industry and solar project developers on the issue of tariffs, and how tensions within the industry create a Catch-22 for the Biden administration as it seeks to grow the solar industry through IRA incentives.

Eric Wesoff is senior editor at Canary Media, and former editor in chief at Greentech Media.

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The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kleinman Center visiting scholar Severin Borenstein discusses California’s struggle to balance residential solar growth with electricity rate equity.

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California’s residential solar market is at a critical inflection point after years of strong growth. Last year the state, which has more rooftop solar than any other, lowered the net metering rate that it pays solar households for the excess electricity that they feed into the electric grid. The policy change contributed to a steep decline in residential rooftop solar installations. This could complicate the state’s task of achieving 100% carbon free power in just over 20 years.

Yet the reasons behind California’s decision to reduce its solar subsidy are complex and reflect growing tensions over the private versus public costs of rooftop solar. These costs are particularly controversial in a state that already has among the highest electricity rates in the country, as well as aggressive targets for home electrification.

On the podcast Severin Borenstein, a Kleinman Center visiting scholar and faculty director of the Energy Institute at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses California’s residential solar energy policies and the challenge of balancing equity, solar growth, and the pace of electrification. Borenstein also explores the lessons from California’s experience that might be applied to other states where rooftop solar power growth is poised to accelerate.

Severin Borenstein is a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and faculty director of the Energy Institute at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Residential Battery Storage: Reshaping the Way We Do Electricity https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/residential-battery-storage-reshaping-the-way-we-do-electricity/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An expert in electricity markets explains why market price signals alone will struggle to incentivize adequate investment in the flexible electricity resources needed for future grid reliability.

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In the 1990s the process of deregulation – or restructuring – of the U.S. electricity system began, leading to the introduction of competition to an industry that had for a century been dominated by vertically-integrated utility monopolies. Today, competitive markets produce two-thirds of the electricity consumed in the country. Yet concern has grown that these modern markets may not be up to the task of driving the types of investment needed to ensure that an ample and reliable supply of clean electricity will be available in the future.

Kelli Joseph, a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center, offers a deep dive into the theory of competitive electricity markets and the role that market price signals play in driving investment in many parts of the United States. She explores the need to incentivize investment in flexible resources essential to the reliability of a grid that is increasingly reliant on natural gas and renewable generation, and discusses how electricity markets and policy might meet the challenges of the energy transition.

Kelli Joseph is a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

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The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/

Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for and Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/

Aligning Clean Energy Policy with Grid Reliability https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/aligning-clean-energy-policy-with-grid-reliability/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.