Chinese Wind Tower Companies face Dumping Danger after Solar Panel Makers

3 Jan, 2012
China,USA,Wind Energy

Chinese Solar Panel Producers have become a famous target of an anti dumping petition brought on by Solarworld and other companies.Though US Solar Installers have opposed the move as it will increase the solar panel prices in US,ITC has gone ahead with the investigation.Though the charges of subsidies and efficiency can be debated,the fact remains that US Solar Panel Producers can’t compete with Chinese Solar Panels.Massive industrial overcapacity in China has made the prices of products very cheap and made it difficult for Western producers to compete in most areas such as Chemical,Renewable Energy,Textiles etc.The Chinese win because of their low interest rates,cheap labor,free land,massive government support.

Wind Tower makers in the USA are now bringing forth measures to stop Chinese and Vietnamese wind tower producers from  selling in the USA as well.With the trade relations between China and USA already quite bad,it remains to get worse still if the wind industry also becomes a focus point.Note Chinese wind turbines producers are already the world’s biggest.The price wars in China have made them look to exports and USA has been targeted by these companies.Sinovel and Goldwind are leading the charge.Its a matter of time before other companies target the wind turbine segment as well.Unlike solar panels ,most wind turbines in USA are made locally.

Read about the pros and cons of wind energy

Local wind tower manufacturers complain about Chinese pricing, sign petition

Claiming unfair pricing practices by Chinese and Vietnamese importers, two wind energy companies with local work sites have signed on to a petition asking trade regulators to investigate possible dumping of wind towers into the U.S. market at less than fair value.The group claims the Chinese government uses subsidies to push wind towers into the U.S. market. The petition asks that duties be placed on Chinese and Vietnamese tower imports by the U.S. Department of Commerce and also seeks an investigation by the International Trade Commission.

Green War between USA and China escalates with acceptance of 301 Filing

The Rise of American Protectionism has its chief enemy in the shape of China.Increasing unemployment and slow economic growth make Currency Wars seem  inevitable in the face of shrinking global demand and export loving countries.However Green Wars are something totally new.Clean Technology leadership has been slipping to China,as USA dithers and bickers on climate legislation and energy laws.China has been strategically pumping huge amounts of cash into the new age Green Industries.Other countries like South Korea,Singapore,Malaysia,Japan,Germany,Spain are also making a major push into the Renewable Energy Industry.USA despite its technology leadership has seen Green Jobs melting away towards China and Mexico.With American Public  Sentiment turning heavily against China in recent times,the US Congress and Administration have been pressurizing China on multiple fronts

Solar Energy Protectionism – Italy joins India,Canada in formulating Domestic Content Requirements

10 May, 2011
China,Italy,Renewable Energy,Solar Energy,Solar Inverters,Solar Panels,USA

Solar Energy has seen a massive boom in 2010 growing by more than 150% as falling solar product prices and increasing subsidies by governments looking to prevent climate change,peak oil and reduce pollution.However most of the solar panel production has become concentrated in China and Taiwan with almost 60% of the world’s solar panel production being done in those regions.The lower costs of labor,cheap cost of capital and good infrastructure has made this possible.However the massive amounts of imports of green products has raised the hackles in developed countries.France had suddenly cut subsidies to the solar power industry citing massive imports of cheap solar panels from China.Note this argument has some basis as European solar module manufacturers have seen huge losses and are shifting factories from Europe to Asia.

Ontario,India also have domestic content requirements

Ontario Canada has a comprehensive solar subsidy policy which mandate that a large percentage of solar components be manufactured in Ontario in order to receive the Feed in Tariffs.The province has managed to attract a lot of manufacturing investment as well due to its local content requirements which requires around 50-60% locally produced parts.This has made Solar Module companies like Silfab and Canadian Solar to set up module plants while companeis like Enphase,Schneider and SMA are setting up inverter plants in the province.Note the local content requirements for Renewable Energy Equipment are nothing new with China implementing a 70% requirement in 2005 for Wind Turbines.Japan which is also a large manufacturer of solar panels with major Japanese solar companies like Sharp,Kyocera has taken Canada to the WTO citing improper competitive practises.India which has one of the largest potential in solar energy installation too has promulgated a law that requires domestic content requirements.Solar Modules must be produced in India to gain FIT under the JNNSM.This law is expected to become stricter with solar cells also to be produced in the country in the future.This has drawn howls of protest from American officials who too tried domestic content in their subsidies under the Stimulus Act.

Italy joins the Solar Energy Protectionism Bandwagon

Italy has joined the bandwagon as well with the latest version of  the solar subsidy law Conto Energia 4 giving additional 5-10% incentives for solar components manufactured in the European Union.Note it won’t benefit Italy too much as most of the manufacturing in located in Germany,Spain and cheap eastern European countries.What it is going to do is cause more disruption to the Italain Solar Market as China may take Italy to the WTO.Not that China is any better as it implicitly supports domestic companies as most of the government companies award contracts only to Chinese companies without being explicit about it.In fact the growth of the Chinese Wind Power Industry was due to the domestic content requirements law implemented in  2007.

“Buy American” Solar Panel Military Law reveals Policy Confusion and Protectionist Hypocrisy

13 Jan, 2011
Abengoa,China,Solar Energy,Suntech,USA

USA recently signed a Military Law which obliges the US Defense Forces to buy Solar Panels which are made in the USA.This “Buy American” proposal directly contradicts US actions and policy which advocates free trade in Green Energy.The US Steelworkers Trade Union recently filed a petition with the US Administration against subsidies being given to the Green Industry by China.US government officials also spoke against the “domestic content” requirements of the Indian Solar Subsidy Policy JNNSM.However when it comes to their own solar panel procurement,the US government has foolishly forced its military forces to buy USA made panels.Not that this will help in boosting the US industry too much,as a number of foreign solar panel producers like Solarworld,Suntech already have module making factories in the United States.Also it remains doubtful about how many solar panels the US Military will buy in the coming years.It will remain a  fraction of the global solar demand.Instead of supporting US Solar companies like Evergreen Solar,Energy Conversion Devices which are fighting to survive,the administration has  given billion dollar loans to a Spanish Solar Thermal Producer.

This Provision speaks volumes of the totally confused Green Policy of the US administration and makes it look like a hypocrite when it champions free trade and dismantling of trade barriers.This provision will backfire as it substantially weakens US position against Asian countries particularly China.US is rapidly losing the Green Industry Race to China and others due to confused administration.

Pentagon cannot buy Chinese solar panels anymore

The military appropriations law signed by Obama on January 7 contains a little-noticed “Buy American” provision for the US Defence Department purchases of solar panels — a clause that is likely to dismay Chinese officials preparing for the Hu-Obama summit, The New York Times reported.The new Buy American provision prevents the Defence Department from buying Chinese-made solar panels.

The American military is a rapidly growing consumer of renewable energy products, because it is extremely expensive and frequently dangerous to ship large quantities of fuel into remote areas of war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan.The solar panel provision is carefully written to help it comply with the free trade rules of the WTO, which would make it hard for China to ask a WTO tribunal to overturn the provision, the report quoted trade lawyers as saying.

France Stupidly blames Cheap Chinese Panels for Stopping Solar Energy Subsidies leading First Solar to Delay French Factory

21 Dec, 2010
China,First Solar,France,Germany,Solar Energy,Solar Panels

France recently halted its solar subsidy program for 3 months for solar installations under 3 kw as it was deluged with a large number of applications.Solar Feed in Tariffs are quite generous for certain type of solar panel installations like BIPV and greenhouses.This combined with rapidly falling solar panel prices primarily due to low cost Chinese manufacturing has made the business extremely lucrative.Note France is not the first country to see a massive flood of solar applications.Spain,Czech,Germany,Australia have faced problems with solar feed in tariff programs mainly because of poor design by slow moving bureaucrats.However most of these countries have never blamed cheap Chinese panel imports for their badly designed programs.Germany which is the undisputed solar market leader did for a while raise the Chinese bogey but it was for a short while.Anyone with a little understanding of the solar industry would know that almost 50% of the value is created in installation which is all done locally.Also most of the polysilicon raw material is made in the West as also most of the equipment used in producing panels in China.

A recent report by SEIA says that USA 71% of the solar industry value is domestically created and its exports are more than imports.Still USA is investigating a report by US Steelworker Union on Chinese subsidies for its Green Industry.France does not have much of a solar manufacturing sector so the solar energy industry will have to import panels from other countries in the EU instead of China.This won’t benefit the French industry which does not have a presence in either the solar or wind industry.All it has done is to put a freeze on Solar Thin Film Leader First Solar plans to establish a Cd-Te factory in France in partnership with EDF.

France Calls for Curbing Chinese Solar-Panel Imports

France’s decision to suspend most solar-energy projects for three months was done partly to curb cheaper imports of Chinese solar panels, Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said today on France Info radio.

“Ninety percent of the solar panels installed in France come from China and our import criteria must be strengthened,” Kosciusko-Morizet said. “We are not here to subsidize the Chinese economy but to create green jobs in France.”

EDF EN delays solar plant on French law changes

French policy changes for the solar power industry have forced EDF Energies Nouvelles to delay the construction of the country’s largest solar panel plant, the renewable energy arm of EDF said on Friday.

Work at the 90-million euro ($119.8 million) plant was initially expected to start in January 2011 but EDF EN said regulatory changes meant it and U.S. venture partner First Solar now had no firm idea on the project’s profitability.

The French government said earlier this month it sought to end what it called a “speculative bubble” by cutting the number of new projects and the price at which EDF buys the electricity from solar power producers — marking the government’s third move in 12 months to regulate the budding industry.

Green War between USA and China escalates with acceptance of 301 Filing

17 Oct, 2010
China,Renewable Energy,USA

The Rise of American Protectionism has its chief enemy in the shape of China.Increasing unemployment and slow economic growth make Currency Wars seem  inevitable in the face of shrinking global demand and export loving countries.However Green Wars are something totally new.Clean Technology leadership has been slipping to China,as USA dithers and bickers on climate legislation and energy laws.China has been strategically pumping huge amounts of cash into the new age Green Industries.Other countries like South Korea,Singapore,Malaysia,Japan,Germany,Spain are also making a major push into the Renewable Energy Industry.USA despite its technology leadership has seen Green Jobs melting away towards China and Mexico.With American Public  Sentiment turning heavily against China in recent times,the US Congress and Administration have been pressurizing China on multiple fronts.The Massive Growth in USA Trade Deficit mainly with China has not helped.Even Europe and Japan are also worried about growing Chinese discrimination against their domestic companies.

US Steelworkers Union filed a Trade Complaint against China over its predatory practices in Green Sectors recently listing numerous infringements.While it was not thought of as a serious complaint because all Green Sectors have an element of Subsidy from Governments.This was seen as more of a tactical maneuver to gain more concessions from Chinese Green Investors in the USA like the A-Power  deal with USW to buy USA made Steel for its Wind Turbine Plant in the USA.However what has been surprising is the alacrity with which the USA administration has accepted the 301 Filing.Now the USA Government Apparatus will investigate the claims and file punitive duties and penalties on Chinese made Green Products imported into the US.This has already resulted in a major stock sell-off in Chinese Solar Stocks which were enjoying a great rally.Note this Green War is part of a general Trade Cold War between the USA and China.This threatens to derail the feeble global economic recovery that we have seen so far.Without compromise and agreement between the major global powers on reducing the huge global imbalances,this could easily result in a Depression which was averted in 2008.

China Says U.S. Complaint on Clean Energy Is ‘Irresponsible’ – Bloomberg

A complaint from the United Steelworkers union in the U.S. about China’s clean energy policies is “groundless” and “irresponsible,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said.China will protect its own interests according to the World Trade Organization’s rules, the ministry said in a statement posted today on its website. The U.S. government’s agreement to investigate the case is a “wrong” trade protectionism signal, the ministry said.

The U.S. acted on a complaint from the steelworkers union that the China’s aid to its clean-energy producers violates global trade rules. Accepting the petition may lead the Obama administration to file a protest at the World Trade Organization.The complaint, called a Section 301 filing, is the first filed and accepted by Obama’s administration after his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, turned down trade complaints against China.

India’s Weak-Kneed Reaction to Earlier US Discrimination leads IT Sector to become a Target of Anti-Outsourcing Politics again

8 Sep, 2010
Technology Sector,USA

India’s IT Sector had recently become a victim of new US Protectionist Policies when US Legislature imposed a $2000 Visa Fee on Companies with a Large Proportion of Foreign Nationals.India’s weak protests had failed to change the legislation which was signed onto Law by President Obama.I had written that India should have retaliated against US interests as well but India’s Government is not known for its proactive policies.Now the IT Sector which is one of India’s Success Stories has come under fire again.The US State of Ohio has legislated that no government body can outsource work.This is again directed towards Indian outsourcers which had been disparaged by a US Senator as a  “Chop Shop”.Note India-US Relations had improved dramatically under President Bush with the signing of the historic 123 agreement.However under President Obama relations have only gone downhill.The Indian Public has a very favorable impression of the US unlike many other parts of the world.However such actions will lead to a souring of relations between the world’s 2 largest democracies.

Ohio bans outsourcing to India, Infosys concerned – NDTV

The American state of Ohio has imposed a ban on outsourcing of government IT projects to offshore destinations such as India. TCS, India’s largest IT company, runs a project in Ohio.The move is likely to affect Indian companies that derive more than 50 per cent of their revenues from the US, though not necessarily from the government sector. Many Indian companies have shifted their priority to the government sector in the wake of recession and this move is likely to throw a spanner in their new strategy.Only last month, US President Barack Obama signed into law a new Border Security Bill proposing a steep hike in some categories of H-1B and L-1 visa fees. The Indian government had threatened to take the US to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the new law saying it targeted Indian companies unfairly.

How Should India React

If India again does not take tough action and just resort to empty threats,it will invite further discriminatory action.China despite its huge export surplus has retaliated against the US by putting duties on Chickens Importsfrom the US.Despite a Massive Trade Deficit,USA has been reluctant to take on China.But in case of India,there have been no such compunctions.India is a Huge Growing Market which every Company aspires to go.India can use this new found leverage to make US toe its line.Note India’s Huge Nuclear and Defense Markets are being eyed hungrily by US Firms.Retaliation in the form of  cancelling a prestigious Defense Contract to a US Company  would send the message to the US Government.

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