The race to rebuild the economy and stabilize the climate has recently been threatened from an unexpected corner — a highly technical trade dispute about the origin of solar panels.
Solar and other forms of clean energy have been on a roll. Billions of dollars have been invested, with billions more in private capital poised to enter the market. It’s become one of the fastest-growing job creators in America. And, crucially in this time of high energy prices, solar is now the cheapest form of new energy in many places. But that momentum was suddenly at risk.
That’s because one of the possible outcomes of the trade complaint filed with the Department of Commerce is punitive tariffs. Fear of those tariffs — which could be applied retroactively — instantly threw cold water on solar projects across the United States.
Solar installers also knew the tariffs would…