US DOE: Clean Energy Supply Chain Poses "Immense Challenges" But Offers "Enormous Opportunity"

In its recently released 76-page report, required under President Biden’s Executive Order 14017, “America’s Supply Chains,” the US Department of Energy (DOE) finds that “[t]he opportunity for US global leadership on clean energy is enormous” but the related “challenges are immense” and relate to:

• raw material availability
• manufacturing capacity
• dependence on foreign supplies
• worker training
• global trade practices
• cybersecurity
• research and data analysis needed

The report’s supply chain review identifies a range of risks and vulnerabilities that vary by technology and will require a sweeping set of diverse policy actions. In addition, DOE identified common threats, risks and vulnerabilities across all selected technologies. These common risks and vulnerabilities are grouped into seven main opportunities for action:

1. increase raw material availability
2. expand domestic manufacturing capabilities
3. support formation of and invest in diverse, secure and socially responsible foreign supply chains
4. increase the adoption and deployment of clean energy
5. improve end-of-life energy-related waste management
6. attract and support a skilled workforce for the clean energy transition
7. enhance supply chain knowledge and decision-making

The report makes 40 specific recommended strategic actions (see Tables 1 and 2 at pp. x-xiii of the report) for these identified opportunities and a further 22 recommendations for congressional actions (see Tables 3 and 4 at pp. xiv-xvi of the report).

In a related 104-page DOE report of a “deep dive” assessment into the solar photovoltaic supply chain, the DOE finds it heavily reliant on China and recommends congressional tax credit support for domestic manufacturing to encourage domestic solar adoption and deployment.