Buckeye Reporter

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is urging the Biden Administration to escalate tariffs on solar imports from China. This appeal stems from his apprehension about the potential effects of Chinese solar imports on solar manufacturing jobs in Ohio.

In a press release issued from his office in January 2024, Brown stated, "China’s aggressive subsidies for its own solar manufacturing industry demonstrate its intent to control the industry globally. By 2026, China will have enough capacity to meet annual global demand for the next ten years. This capacity is an existential threat to the U.S. solar industry and American energy security." The press release was co-signed by Senators Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

However, many Ohio residents express more concern about the impact of the solar industry on agriculture and their rural lifestyle than on employment. Preble County resident Jill Sorrell voiced her worries last year on Facebook after a court approved two nearby solar farms. She said, "Our farm is right beside the solar farm and across the road. We are very concerned about our tile, run off on crops, where's the wildlife going to go, value on our property, the maintenance on them once they are done... I will be heartbroken the rest of my life."

Christy Stenger, another resident living near one of these farms, reacted to this decision saying, "My husband and I got a phone call from the solar farm company that are supposed to be next to us... We will be surrounded if we can't stop this."

Brown's efforts to curtail Chinese solar imports have been ongoing. His press release notes that "in May 2022, Brown originally called on President Biden to allow a Commerce Department investigation into whether Chinese companies were circumventing antidumping and countervailing duties."

Support for the solar industry extends beyond the imposition of tariffs, with federal subsidies for solar farms being one such measure. The U.S. Department of Energy states that most solar projects constructed since 2006 have been eligible for a 30 percent credit on federal income taxes.

Solar generators have capitalized on these subsidies for years. The Solar Energy Industries Association reports that as of June 2023, Ohio had installed 1.38 megawatts of solar generation, representing an investment exceeding $2 billion. This places Ohio 22nd in the nation for installed solar generation, a significant rise from its previous rank of 32nd.

According to Cincinnati's WCPO, Channel 9, Rusty Durbin, a local farmer concerned about the development of solar farms in Clermont County, was elected as a trustee in Tate Township. Election returns from the Clermont County Board of Elections indicate that Durbin secured victory over incumbent Bobby Reddin with 54 percent of the vote. The election saw much debate around the issue of solar farms.