Henrico Times

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Rob Wittman (VA-01), alongside Reps. Jen Kiggans (VA-02), Ben Cline (VA-06), and Morgan Griffith (VA-09), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging the U.S. Department of Defense to ensure any solar panels installed on the Pentagon or any U.S. military installation are made in America. The lawmakers expressed concerns over China's dominance in the global solar supply chain and potential national security risks.

“We are deeply concerned that the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are not demonstrating appropriate attention to the economic and national security risks posed by pursuing this initiative when Chinese solar manufacturers continue to dominate the marketplace, historically violate U.S. trade laws, and advance the surveillance activities of Chinese military and intelligence agencies,” the lawmakers wrote.

Most solar panels in the United States are sourced from China, with even domestically made panels relying on Chinese materials. Additionally, reliance on solar energy at the Pentagon would increase dependence on battery storage, with China being a major producer of lithium for batteries.

The full letter addressed to Secretary Austin reads:

Dear Secretary Austin:

We write today to express strong concerns regarding implementation of the Biden administration’s executive order to make the federal government carbon neutral by 2050. As part of its green agenda, at the start of this year, the Department of Defense announced that it would install solar panels on the Pentagon. We are deeply concerned that the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are not demonstrating appropriate attention to economic and national security risks posed by pursuing this initiative when Chinese solar manufacturers continue to dominate the marketplace, historically violate U.S. trade laws, and advance surveillance activities of Chinese military and intelligence agencies.

In recent years, the Biden administration has taken various actions to protect Chinese solar manufacturers. In June 2022, for example, President Biden issued the Solar Declaration of Emergency, neutralizing a Department of Commerce investigation into whether Chinese solar manufacturers were illegally circumventing existing antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) orders. We are not encouraged by these precedents.

Today, eight out of ten solar panels installed in the United States come from China. Even if panels made in America are purchased by DoD or DoE, they still rely heavily on metallurgical grade silicon and polysilicon from China. Furthermore, increased reliance on battery storage due to Pentagon's use will necessitate dependency on lithium production where China is a leading producer.

While Buy America Act requirements apply to any purchased solar panels for Pentagon use, many requirements under this Act can be waived if deemed in public interest.

Given these concerns we ask you respond by Monday June 24th 2024:

1) With President Biden’s two-year moratorium ending June 6th 2024 please describe due diligence ensuring procured Pentagon or other US installations' panels aren't under said moratorium avoiding retroactive AD/CVD tariffs?

2) Does DoD anticipate providing waivers from Buy America Act increasing number installed?

3) What safeguards does DoD have ensuring no electronic security undermining?

4) How will funding ensure non-benefit towards PRC objectives?

Thank you for your urgent attention.

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