The head of the United States’ largest manufacturer of solar panels will testify before the Senate Finance Committee this week as Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to look for opportunities to tout the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act on domestic production of goods.
The scheduled appearance by Mark Widmar, chief executive of First Solar, also comes a few months after the company announced a sale of up to $700 million in tax credits, having taken advantage of the IRA’s advanced manufacturing incentive.
“This is the IRA delivering on its intent, which is to incentivize high value domestic manufacturing by providing manufacturers with the liquidity they need to reinvest in growth and innovation,” Widmar said in a statement in late September, just eight days after the administration finalized implementation guidance.
Widmar’s case study for the IRA’s success may be a highlight of Tuesday’s hearing, titled “American Made: Growing U.S. Manufacturing Through the Tax Code.”
