by Dave Williams | Jun 22, 2021 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – American manufacturers of solar panels would benefit from a new federal tax credit under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
“This legislation will bring more clean energy Jobs to Georgia while creating tens of thousands of clean energy jobs across the country,” Ossoff said Tuesday during a news conference. “It will help make America energy independent and allow American manufacturers to compete with Chinese solar manufacturers, and it will accelerate our transition to clean and renewable energy sources.”
Ossoff said he campaigned for the Senate last year on a pledge to make Georgia a national leader in solar manufacturing. The state already is home to Q Cells USA in Dalton, the largest solar panel manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere.
The proposed tax credit is aimed at boosting the production of solar panels at every stage of a supply chain currently dominated by Chinese manufacturers.
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“We don’t want to rely upon Chinese monopolies to produce this technology,” Ossoff said.
Ossoff said he is working with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to include the tax credit as part of broader infrastructure legislation.
The bill could play a major role in transitioning the United States toward a clean-energy future, he said.
“We’ve got to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels,” he said. “American companies and American workers should produce the technology that will allow us to generate clean, renewable energy at scale.”
The bill’s cosponsors include Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
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