As Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill battles procedural laws in the Senate, the Bill’s hostile nature towards Solar and clean energy projects in the USA has drawn criticisms from the industry. Some like Elon Musk called the bill insane and that it would kill millions of jobs.
The One Big Beautiful Bill is supposed to put an end to tax credits given to Solar projects and installations. It also targets companies using Chinese components.
The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025
Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. https://t.co/TZ9w1g7zHF
Musk said, “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”
On the other hand, pro MAGA users have supported the decision to put an end to federal funding for Solar and Wind projects. They have argued that these Solar projects do not create jobs they are expected to create. And they say why the government is supporting industries which cannot survive on their own without subsidies, grants and tax credits.
I'm having a tough time seeing that as a net negative, actually. Any industry which is terminally dependent on subsidies to exist in the first place, and can't survive on its own without forced wealth redistribution to create incentives, isn't an industry worth supporting.
— TXJollyRoger☠️ (@TxJollyRoger) June 28, 2025
Another user, Dr.Paul De Santis has praised the bill and said, “Good, no more Chinese sabotage and solar/wind, we need nuclear large/reliable sustainable base load… not expensive, unreliable, and intermittent power sources infiltrated by the Chinese CCP. Not that hard of a choice.”
Does Solar Projects in USA create enough jobs?
Solar projects in the USA do create a significant number of jobs. But most of these jobs are construction jobs and happen to be temporary. Permanent or operational jobs created by these Solar Plants were far lower. For example, the Ivanpah Solar Project in California created only 62 permanent jobs. While in the construction phase, it had around 1000 workers. Other Solar plants in USA such as the Wolf Run Solar Park in Illinois got only two permanent jobs, rest are all construction workers.
As per reports, the solar park park is built with 351,800 solar panels covering 1,000 acres of land that generate enough electricity for 35,000 Illinois homes. The same is the case with other Solar Projects like Davidson County Solar Farm in North Carolina with 3 permanent jobs just to maintain the facility. Compared to these, it is a well known fact that Natural Gas plants create more stable jobs than Solar Plants.
What do we know about the Chinese Sabotage of US Solar industry?
Chinese sabotage of the US Solar industry began in 2008 when the Chinese realized the scope and strength of Solar generated electricity and started government sponsored manufacturing of Solar Panels with massive subsidies.
Later, during the period between 2008 and 2012, these Chinese Solar Panels flooded the global markets and were sold at prices below the production costs. These drove many companies out of the market and eventually helped China build a monopoly over Solar manufacturing and supply. US companies like Solyndra went bankrupt in 2011 because they could not compete with these cheap Solar Panels.
Literally, the US manufacturing of Solar products stalled because Chinese cheap supplies had already captured the market. Even US companies which claim to be manufacturing Solar systems were allegedly importing the materials required from China. All the Solar companies effectively went to the installation phase rather than manufacturing which led to China dominating the supply chain.
During the first term of US President Donald Trump, tariffs were raised on Chinese Solar imports. It was 30% to help revive the US Solar manufacturing industries but it failed.
However, amidst the anti-dumping circumvention investigation launched by the Department of Commerce against China, Biden Administration paused tariffs on solar imports from four South Asian countries for two years in order to protect Solar installations in the USA. The investigation was launched after a petition was filed by a California based Solar Panel Assembler Auxin Solar.
CEO of Auxin Solar stated, “For years, Chinese solar producers have refused to fairly price their products in the U.S. and have gone to significant lengths to continue undercutting American manufacturers and workers by establishing circumventing operations in countries not covered by those duties.”
There can be extensive arguments over the use of Solar technology in the United States. For instance, can USA really compete with China in Solar production? Does the climate and cheap labour in China favour scaling up and mass production of Solar equipment more than the USA? Would opting for different sources of energy such as Natural Gas or Nuclear be far more better option? One thing is for sure, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will put a check on unabated government subsidies given to these Solar farms and some might even shut down in the long run.
