More solar power panels are made in China than any country. Solar panels are providing a benefit to the United States military in Afghanistan where conventional sources of energy are impractical. A military spending bill barring the Defense Department from buying Chinese solar power panels was signed by President Obama a week before China’s president Hu Jintao makes an official visit to the United States . Applying for a payday loan to be energy efficient could pay off in China. Article resource – Military spending bill bans Chinese solar panels before Hu visit by MoneyBlogNewz.
Clean energy in China
Talks about solar panels will likely be contentious next week. This will be for the U.S./China trade talks specifically. Chinese solar panel manufacturers, heavily subsidized by the Beijing government, have captured more than half of the $29 billion international market. As the U.S. tries to narrow China’s lead in clean energy industries, members of Congress have accused China of violating free trade rules laid out by the World Trade Organization. Clean energy subsidies in the U.S. go to solar panel buyers, while China subsidizes solar panel manufacturers. Chinese solar power manufacturers then double-dip, dumping most of their product in the U.S. to benefit from its government subsidies.
China/U.S. trade talks all about clean energy dispute
Requiring the U.S. military to buy only American-made solar panels is bound to generate criticism from Chinese officials on the eve of Hu’s visit. A few years ago, China raised strong objections when the 900 billion economic stimulus package included a “buy American” provision for government procurement of steel and other construction materials. However, in 2009, China required that its entire $600 billion economic stimulus package be spent in-country. The Chinese clean energy subsidies are going to be in a case brought before the WTO by the Obama administration. At issue are allegedly illegal government subsidies for Chinese solar and wind energy exports that put U.S. and European companies at a competitive disadvantage.
China buys major European solar energy company
It seems the U.S. is only interested in getting trade restrictions on solar panels put in place. China wants to be the top dog in the clean energy industries though. The China National BlueStar Corp. made a purchase recently though. The Norwegian solar panel manufacturer Elkem was bought for $2 billion by the company. China’s acquisition of Elkem gives it cutting edge solar energy technology made by a company entrenched in the European market.
Articles cited
New York Times
finance.yahoo.com/news/Pentagon-Must-Buy-American-nytimes-512023817.html?x=0&.v=1
UPI
upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/01/10/No-foreign-solar-panels-for-US-military/UPI-50331294678189/
Christian Science Monitor
csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0111/Solar-panels-China-buys-Norwegian-unit
No comments:
Post a Comment