Toledo Solar Inc. releases a statement on the most recent Treasury Department's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax policy guidance

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May 16, 2023, 14:44 ET

PERRYSBURG, Ohio, May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Toledo Solar Inc (TSI), a leading American manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, welcomes the U.S. Department of Treasury's support for the growth of domestic manufacturing of the solar industry. However, TSI calls for the closing of significant loopholes in Treasury's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) guidance issued last Friday.

The guidance, crafted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Transportation, interprets the domestic content bonus credit for clean energy products that meet both U.S. manufacturing and sourcing requirements. Under the program, a 10 percent credit will be awarded to facilities and projects that meet domestic content requirements under the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and/or the Investment Tax Credit (ITC).

However, the loophole for overseas made goods such as polysilicon wafers to continue flooding the U.S. market and still count as U.S.-manufactured components is a big miss for promoting U.S. manufacturing jobs and addressing climate change. The Adjusted Percentage Rule in the guidance allows for a Frankenstein-approach to picking and choosing how to meet U.S. manufacturing requirements that sidesteps the Inflation Reduction Act's requirements that all components are to be manufactured in the U.S. This action leaves open the door for continued significant manipulation of the domestic content thresholds to do as little manufacturing in the U.S. as possible.

As one of the U.S. manufacturers that are leading the way to energy independence, Toledo Solar supports a solar industry that has an end-to-end supply chain here in the U.S.

"This guidance from the Treasury department provides a significant loophole that allows for non-U.S. manufactured subcomponents such as polysilicon wafers to still count toward the domestic content thresholds," said Aaron Bates, CEO of Toledo Solar. "This appears as an attempt to sidestep the domestic manufacturing requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act by allowing the continued importation of overseas made semi-conductors and wafers that utilize both forced labor and coal-based energy sources. It is disappointing that there will be continued manipulation of domestic content thresholds to do as little manufacturing in the U.S. as possible."

"I have long fought for American energy manufacturing and an all of the above energy strategy that moves us toward energy independence, but it is hard to understand this decision by the Biden Administration that seeks to reward those who offshore jobs in China and elsewhere," said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. "The Administration must not allow China to undercut domestic manufacturers like Toledo Solar and Ohio workers who power them with our own tax code. This new interpretation of the 'domestic content' bonus established as part of the Inflation Reduction Act rewards those who cut corners, offshore jobs, and buy cheaper components produced in China. When a product is given the benefit of being called American made, that should include all stages and steps in the production process. Giving this additional tax benefit to those who cut corners is yet another reward for bad behavior."

About Toledo Solar

At Toledo Solar, we believe energy independence starts at home. Our mission is to provide state of the art 100% U.S. manufactured CdTe solar modules and related racking systems to residential, commercial, and industrial installers in the U.S. and around the world using solar power to reduce energy bills while decreasing the world's carbon footprint by employing a clean and abundant renewable energy source. To learn more or visit our website, click here.

SOURCE Toledo Solar Inc