Ironically, an Army spokesperson told Defense News on Friday that the modules for the Fort Bragg solar farm were manufactured in South Korea before final assembly in Alabama.Ī February 2022 Defense Department report on critical supply chain highlights the challenge of addressing China’s hold on solar panels and lithium batteries alike. Waltz pressed her on the origins of components for the new floating solar farm at Fort Bragg. Wormuth told Waltz at the House Armed Services Committee hearing that “We do need to work to get control of our supply chain so that the critical components we have, we control.” “The concentration of the supply chain in companies with close ties to China, a country with documented human rights violations and an unpredictable trade relationship with the United States, poses a significant risk of disruption,” states the report. Last year, Ernst inserted a provision in the fiscal 2023 defense authorization bill to slow the non-tactical vehicle fleet electric transition by requiring the Pentagon to first supply Congress with a report requiring the Pentagon to identify any components of the vehicles sourced from China.Ī February 2022 Energy Department report on solar panel supply chains noted that China produces 97% of the world’s silicon wafers need to make solar panels and that Chinese subsidiaries make 75% of the solar cells for modules imported into the U.S. “China controls over 80% of solar panel production and 95% of elements needed to produce such product,” Waltz wrote in a letter this week to Army Secretary Christie Wormuth. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who chairs the House Armed Services Readiness subcommittee, suggested at an April 19 hearing that he may insert language in this year’s defense authorization bill requiring the Pentagon to certify that these solar panel and electric vehicle materials do not come from China. The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and Democrats’ 2022 budget reconciliation bill included several subsidies for domestic electric vehicle and solar panel manufacturing. It’s also collaborating with the Energy Department’s Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries to improve supply chain resilience.Īn Energy Department fact sheet issued on Thursday touted more than $95 billion private sector investment in domestic battery production since 2021 alongside 160 new or expanded minerals, processing and manufacturing facilities. The Pentagon plans to spend $43 million on the effort in fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. President Joe Biden last year also authorized defense production act authorities to address critical mineral shortfalls in large-capacity batteries. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante released a non-public, lithium-ion battery strategy in February, aimed at increasing the mining and production needed to produce them within the U.S. “Deputy Secretary Hicks emphasized that increasing lethality and maintaining the United States’ asymmetric military edge will depend on advancing battery technology and ensuring a more resilient domestic supply chain.” “Today, batteries are critical for powering our defense systems-from vehicles and aircraft, to munitions and platforms, to our unmanned systems and satellite systems and more,” Pentagon Spokesman Eric Pahon said in a readout of the April 28 meeting. Late last month, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks discussed supply chain diversification with executives from lithium-ion battery and mineral companies Bren-Tronics, EaglePicher, Enersys, Forge Nano, General Motors Defense and Our Next Energy.
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