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| U.S. President Joe Biden walks in front of solar panels in Plymouth, New Hampshire in this 2019 file photo. Reuters-Yonhap |
By Park Jae-hyuk
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration's obvious preference for nuclear energy over renewables has unintentionally created thousands of new jobs in the U.S. solar power industry, as Korean companies began shifting their focus to the North American market from the shrinking domestic market, according to industry officials, Thursday.
After Hanwha Solutions held a press conference on Wednesday to announce its $2.5-billion investment to build North America's largest solar module manufacturing complex in the state of Georgia, U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the Korean firm's plan, describing the largest solar investment in U.S. history as a "big deal" for Georgia's working families and the American economy.
"Hanwha's Q CELLS investment will create thousands of good-paying jobs in Georgia, many of which won't require a four-year degree," Biden said in a statement. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the press that the investment will specifically create 2,500 jobs in the southeastern state.
Given that Hanwha said its expansion is intended to comply with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. president also emphasized that the investment is a direct result of his economic plan.
"Under my leadership, the United States can and will lead the world in manufacturing once again," he said.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol announces his presidential election pledges at a nuclear power plant in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang Province, in this December 2021 file photo. Yonhap |
Korea's solar power industry, on the other hand, is unlikely to witness an increase in jobs in the near future, as Hanwha Solutions Q Cells Division CEO Lee Koo-yung ruled out the possibility of his company making such a large-scale investment in the local market for the next couple of years, citing the sluggish domestic demand for renewables.
"Domestic demand for products for solar power generation will grow explosively someday, but it does not seem to be this year or next year," he told Korean reporters at Wednesday's press conference.
His remarks were interpreted widely as skepticism of the revitalization of the domestic solar power industry under the current Yoon administration.
The Yoon government has focused on supporting the nuclear energy industry, which had faced difficulties under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, as it had pursued a nuclear phase-out policy. The ruling People Power Party also launched a special committee last year to zero in on allies of the previous government by investigating allegations of irregularities by companies engaged in the solar power industry.
This hostile stance of the government toward the solar power industry has caused concerns.
"Unless the government changes its political stance on renewables, the nation's solar power ecosystem and domestic companies in the industry will collapse," Korea Photovoltaic Industry Association Chairman Hong Sung-min said in his New Year's address.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which was the ruling party under the previous government, criticized the Yoon administration's preference for nuclear energy, claiming that its policies will damage Korean firms having the world's leading technologies in renewables.
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