White House Pushes Domestic Manufacturing
November 1, 2022
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On September 19, the Department of Government Services issued a Request for Information on Domestically Manufactured Photovoltaic Panels and Systems and System Installation. The deadline for his response is November 18th. RFI’s focus on US manufacturing and clean energy technologies is no coincidence. Rather, it is a natural consequence of the Biden administration’s focus on these policy areas.
The administration rapidly launched its clean energy efforts in the procurement sector in December 2021 when President Biden issued Executive Order 14057, “Catalyze Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability.”
The order directed the government to “transform federal procurement” and adopt sustainable practices, with the ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2050. To achieve net-zero emissions, the Executive Order and accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan mandates on-site “carbon-clean power” generation (generated from a variety of sources with little or no carbon emissions) for federal facilities. (defined as renewable energy) and initiatives to enter into power purchase agreements with carbon-free producers.
The administration’s prioritization of clean energy is reflected by a similar focus on domestic manufacturing. In January 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14005. The order is intended to strengthen existing domestic preference laws, including by creating a new Made in America office to oversee national preference requirements in federal procurement, and by establishing a Buy American Act. This includes issuing an updated final rule that raises both thresholds and price preferences for domestic ingredients based on For eligible products.
The Office of Management and Budget officially established the Made in America office in April 2021, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council subsequently issued the required Buy American Act final rule in March 2022. Items receive higher pricing. The government has reserved identification of these key items for subsequent rulemaking.
Other policy directives have focused on encouraging domestic production. In June 2022, the administration invoked the Defense Production Act to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies, including “solar panel components such as solar modules and module components.”
The Department of Energy is implementing that directive and recently issued a Request for Information seeking public comment on how production laws can best be used to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies. The deadline for his comments is November 30th.
When the Defense Production Act was invoked, the government implemented two additional changes to support the domestic solar industry. First, it directed the government to enter into a “master supply agreement for domestically manufactured solar systems” to “increase the speed and efficiency with which domestic clean power suppliers can sell their products to the U.S. government.” did.
Second, it gives the government a “super preference” for “enforcing national content standards for federal procurement of solar systems, including domestically manufactured photovoltaic components, consistent with the Buy American Act.” ” was instructed to establish.
The latest RFI from the Department of Government Services is another boost for the domestic solar industry. RFI indicates that the government intends to use information gathered from the industry to develop standards for use in solar procurement strategies and future solicitations. Other Acquisition Vehicles.
The RFI also shows how the administration’s domestic manufacturing and clean energy policies will interact with regulatory changes recently enacted by Congress.
For example, RFI requests information on how US manufacturers monitor compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The law will come into force in June 2022 and imposes severe restrictions on goods produced in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This limit is particularly important for the domestic solar industry. This is because the region is a major source of polysilicon, an essential material for solar modules. As such, RFI directly asks whether implementation of the law will help or hinder domestic manufacturing.
At the same time, RFI asks contractors about their ability to comply with national specification standards. This includes the new higher thresholds imposed by Executive Order 14005 and subsequent his March 2022 Final Rule. It also includes infrastructure-related domestic content requirements enacted by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
At a higher level, RFI also seeks information on the trade-offs that would arise if governments adopted a stronger preference, or ‘super preference’, for domestically produced solar installations. We therefore sought views on the possible impact of new domestic content requirements, including the potential requirement that the government purchases solar energy to be generated using only domestically manufactured photovoltaic equipment, and also , is also asking how procurement standards can be better aligned and promoted. Domestic production.
RFI is just one part of a broader government-wide effort focused on green energy and domestic manufacturing within the US government contracting industry. More is sure to happen as high-level policy directives continue to translate into practical requirements.
Nooree Lee is Special Advisor, Peter Terenzio is Associate and Michael Wagner is Partner at Covington & Burling LLP.
topic: Insights into manufacturing, energy and government contracts