Solar panels from China banned in military spending bill

China is the top maker of solar power panels in the world. The United States military is increasingly relying on solar energy as it operates in remote regions of Afghanistan where shipping fuel for energy is hard. The military spending bill signed into law Jan. 7 excludes solar power panels from China as an official visit to the U.S. by Hu Jintao, China’s president, is scheduled for next week. Applying for a payday loan to be energy effective could pay off in China. Source of article – Military spending bill bans Chinese solar panels before Hu visit by MoneyBlogNewz.

China’s clean energy racket

Solar panels may be a contentious issue in China/U.S. trade talks next week. The Beijing government subsidizes the Chinese solar panel manufacturers. In the $29 billion international market, this accounts for about half. 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. Solar panel buyers end up getting clean energy subsidies in the U.S. although solar panel manufacturers are subsidized by China. It is a double dip in a sense as Chinese solar power manufacturers put product in the U.S. most of the time. Then, the companies can benefit from the government subsidies the best.

China/U.S. trade talks all about clean energy dispute

Chinese officials have criticized, right before Hu's visit, the U.S. military only buying American-made solar panels. There were many objections from China a few years ago when the 900 billion economic stimulus package passed. This was because a "buy American" provision was added for the construction materials such as steel that was bought by the government. China had a similar requirement with its $600 billion economic stimulus package that passed in 2009. The money had to be spent in China. The Obama administration is preparing a case against Chinese clean energy subsidies it plans to bring before the WTO. Solar and wind energy exports with government subsidies are supposedly illegal. This supposedly creates a competitive disadvantage for European companies and U.S. companies.

China buying solar energy company in Europe

While the U.S. imposes trade restrictions on solar panels, China continues to aggressively pursue world domination in clean energy industries. State-owned China National BlueStar Corp. announced the purchase of Norwegian solar panel manufacturer Elkem for $2 billion. China’s acquisition of Elkem gives it cutting edge solar energy technology made by a company entrenched in the European market.

Citations

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