SEMA Coalition Statement on Revised Domestic Content Guidance

New Guidance Recognizes U.S. Wafer Production, But More Work Remains

Washington, DC – Today, the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released revised subregulatory guidance for the domestic content bonus credit. Mike Carr, Executive Director of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition, released the below statement following the announcement:

“The purpose of the domestic content bonus is to build a U.S.-based solar supply chain, and the latest guidance, although a positive step, falls short in some respects. Congress intended the bonus to serve as a technology-neutral direct complement to the Section 45X advanced manufacturing production tax incentives, creating a clear demand signal in the market for American-made products built with components produced in America, spurring new investments in domestic energy manufacturing. 

“While it’s significant that the value of U.S. wafer production is now recognized, if the tables were more focused on the core, strategic components of all solar technologies, we would see a faster and more expansive build-out of factories in the United States. Unfortunately, we still have an overly complicated approach that misses the mark in important ways and risks deepening our country’s reliance on China’s solar supply chain by failing to play to our technological strengths. 

“The United States can be a world leader in solar manufacturing technology, and we have the lead in developing the next generation of solar. We look forward to working with the 119th Congress and the incoming administration to unleash American energy manufacturing and not let China maintain its stranglehold over this critical technology.”