Boosting Solar Manufacturing
Under current law, solar cell manufacturers based in the United States have strong incentives to build factories overseas, says Jon Sakoda, a partner at the venture capital firm NEA. But that could change, if a provision in the Senate version of the stimulus bill becomes law.
Sakoda spoke to me from Washington, DC, today, where he is drumming up support for the provision, which would set up a tax credit for manufacturing solar panels (and wind turbines and other renewable energy equipment) in the US. He says that five companies that he’s working with would start building factories in the U.S. this year. Without the credits, they’ll build in places such as Germany and the Philippines, which already have strong incentives in place.
The provision would fill a key gap–current legislation provides a tax credit to investors who are installing solar panels. “But if you ask them where they got the panels, they’d say Germany or Japan,” he says.
The manufacturing tax credit is not part of the House version of the stimulus bill however, and could be cut before the stimulus package becomes law.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google
Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.