US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States is working to build flexible and diversified clean energy supply chains to protect its economic security while being wary of the risks posed by excessive concentration in a few countries.
Yellen will discuss the problems of shifting away from fossil fuels in a big speech scheduled for a Las Vegas event after viewing a union facility where employees learn skills to work on clean energy projects.
According to “reuters,” Yellen’s address comes only days before the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $500 billion in new spending and tax benefits targeted at promoting clean energy, decreasing healthcare costs, and raising tax revenue.
Yellen plans to praise the continued resilience of the US economy while emphasizing the importance of key legislation such as the IRA in helping to rebuild America’s manufacturing base.
“As we transition away from fossil fuels, we are worried about the risks of overconcentration in renewable energy supply chains. Today, manufacturing of crucial clean energy inputs—from batteries to solar panels to biominerals—is concentrated in a few nations,” Yellen stated in letter excerpts acquired by Reuters.
A report issued by the International Energy Agency earlier this year indicated that China has at least 60% of the world’s manufacturing capacity for most mass-manufactured technologies, such as solar photovoltaic and wind power systems, and 40% of electrolyser manufacturing.