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This opinion column was submitted by Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, founder and CEO of Avantus.
When solar deployment in Nevada came to a halt last year due to tariff threats, President Biden stepped up and enacted a two-year reprieve from the additional costs, which provided much-needed certainty for the industry. Now Congress is threatening to pull the rug out from under the clean energy companies who do business in Nevada, hurting our ability to create jobs and prosperity in the state.
As a leading clean energy company here in Nevada, we are proud to bring the transformative power of solar energy and storage to the state. The president’s action allowed businesses like ours to secure supplies, resume stalled projects, and keep local workers on payroll while providing an important bridge to the domestic manufacturing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act.
However, the Congressional Review Act resolution moving through Congress would put our progress at risk. This dangerous policy would repeal the temporary pause on new solar tariffs and impose retroactive duties on materials that could cost U.S. companies upwards of $1 billion, endangering thousands of jobs and backtracking on Nevada’s clean energy future. And without the certainty of the two-year moratorium, projects, hiring and investments would need to be put on hold.
Rather than protecting jobs, this misguided resolution would stall America’s solar energy progress, putting the interests of Nevada solar workers last. It would effectively cancel 14 percent of the industry’s anticipated deployment this year and put 30,000 American jobs at risk, including 4,000 manufacturing jobs. This bill would jeopardize our energy security and prioritize political gains over jobs.
It would also have a devastating impact on the local supply chain that reaches far beyond solar companies. Local businesses that provide construction equipment, logistics, banking and financial support, food, lodging, and other services needed to develop a solar project would lose business too.
Nevada, with its vast renewable energy resources, ranks sixth in the nation for solar, producing enough electricity for more than 910,000 homes and supporting more than 7,000 jobs in the state. Avantus is one of the companies partnering with IBEW Local 357 and others to build the energy projects of the future and provide clean, reliable, affordable electricity to power the state.
As America looks to assume our leadership position on the global stage, the U.S. solar industry is working tirelessly to build a strong and resilient domestic supply chain. This CRA runs directly counter to our shared goal as a nation and vision for a safe and prosperous clean energy future. Should our leaders in the Senate entertain this effort, the solar industry could again be plagued with deep uncertainty, resulting in massive job losses.
Fortunately, Nevada has a strong champion in the U.S. Senate. Senator Rosen is leading the effort against this wrongheaded attempt to undermine Nevada businesses. She has been a tireless champion for utilizing the vast natural resources of Nevada to generate its own power with local jobs. I urge her colleagues to follow her example to stand up for Nevada’s solar future, choose opportunity over politics, and vehemently oppose the Congressional Review Act resolution.
Dr. Tom Buttgenbach is founder and CEO for Avantus, a clean energy company with over a dozen projects under development in Nevada.
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