A Biden Whitehouse Could Mean a Clean Energy Manufacturing Boom
Clean, green energy has remained a burgeoning market for the better part of two decades. Is now the time it finally breaks into the big-time and becomes a cornerstone of domestic manufacturing?
The Biden Administration’s clear commitment to environmentalism could be exactly the push renewables and green energy need to make it in the mainstream — and manufacturers are already positioning themselves to lead the charge when the call comes down from Capitol Hill to ramp up production on green goods.
The market is bullish on green manufacturing
Investors have already identified public companies positioned to take up the mantle of domestic green manufacturing. As newly-elected President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13990 on inauguration day — Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis — stock market sentiments rose almost immediately.
Three proven green energy manufacturing outfits — FirstSolar ($FSLR), Enphase ($ENPH), and SunPower ($SPWR) — all rose in the days following the inauguration, as did many other smaller renewable stocks. It’s not just the inauguration pushing these stocks higher, either. The manufacturing renewables sector stock chart tracks, almost to a T, projections of Joe Biden’s victory in the campaign leadup to the 2020 elections. For renewable manufacturers, this new administration has been a point of anticipation.
The realities of a green future
Stock market aside, there’s heightened interest in renewables purely on the notion that the United States (and the world) is running out of time to make real, sustainable changes. Here again, the Biden Administration is placing priority on environmental stewardship. This clears the way for demand in renewable goods — demand many domestic producers are set to supply.
The Biden Administration is armed with $40 billion to fight climate change. Coupled with the administration’s clear emphasis on domestic production, it’s likely that manufacturing incentives for renewable producers isn’t far down the line. Much like the Obama Administration did in 2008 and 2012, the Biden Administration is already pushing green-forward plans for solar and wind farms. Once these programs are up and running, green manufacturing has a growth runway unlike any other sector.
Headwinds persist, but can be overcome
The Biden Administration announced plans to achieve net-zero power grid emissions by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050. This will take nothing short of a herculean effort to accomplish with a major pivot from reliance on fossil fuels and traditional energy, to a future that’s clean, green, and sustainable. The potential for green energy manufacturers is limitless … so long as Biden and subsequent administrations can right the ship.
The first and most essential step in achieving these lofty goals? Bringing home manufacturing jobs. China shipped 62% of the world’s solar cells and panels in 2020. The Biden Administration will likely continue the efforts started by the Trump Administration in placing duties on imported solar panels and solar cells to induce domestic production. Then, they’ll need to carve out subsidies that truly benefit production and maintain the accountability of government-backed loans to green energy producers.
It appears the Biden Administration is well aware of the ropes and pullies needed to hoist a pillar of renewables manufacturing in America. Biden’s tandem focus on domestic production and environmental stewardship is the executive marriage of concepts that sustainable energy needs to finally have its boom in the U.S., and for a green manufacturing boom to follow.
