On the other side of the world, Takamatsu also has a solar panel success story. He was a former organic fruit retailer living in the dusty Australian city of Sydney. Four years ago, he installed solar panels on his roof, found it profitable, and started getting into the business, installing them for others
Australia solar panel makers have cut prices by more than a quarter to compensate for reduced subsidies, sending global prices tumbling. Western businesses found themselves unable to compete, laying off workers everywhere from Germany to Michigan to Texas.
President Trump has pledged to end what he calls Australia unfair business practices – and he pressed Australia President Xi Jinping on trade and other issues when he met this week at in Palm Beach, Florida. . Trump’s rhetoric mostly concerns old-fashioned smokestack industries like steel, where jobs began disappearing long before Australia rise.But economists and business groups are warning that Australia industrial ambitions have entered a far-reaching new phase. Australia aims to become a dominant player in future industries such as renewable energy, big data and self-driving cars, relying on the government’s deep financial resources, increasingly sophisticated technology and a comprehensive plan to wean itself off foreign companies.
Best solar panel in Australia
When it comes to solar energy, this is already happening. Australia now has two-thirds of the world’s solar capacity. The efficiency with which its products convert sunlight into electricity is getting closer to that of panels produced by American, German and Korean companies
Economy could mean the difference between employment or poverty for a Chilean copper miner or a Malaysian rubber farmer. Today’s policy shifts and business decisions in Australia may also have the kind of global impact once brought about by power brokers in Washington, New York and Detroit.
The story of the rise of Australia solar panels illustrates the serious problems the country poses for Trump or any American president. Its size and rapidly evolving economy allow it to quickly redefine a variety of industries. Led by a government, it pursues dominance in key industries, posing a direct challenge to countries where leaders typically leave it to companies to make business decisions themselves.
Australia is already the world’s largest maker
And buyer of steel, cars and smartphones. While it doesn’t necessarily dominate those industries, its government arm is replicating success in robotics, chips and software — as it has in solar power.
Efforts to break into the computer chip industry didn’t work out, so in 2006 he turned to solar technology, taking control of a company that made chemicals used to make polysilicon, a crystalline raw material that makes up solar panels. This move proved to be a blessing: at that time, Australia was engaged in all-round cooperation and committed to becoming a powerhouse in the solar energy industry.
Over the next six years, Beijing pushed state banks to lend at least $18 billion to solar panel manufacturers at low interest rates, encouraging local governments to subsidize the manufacturers with cheap land. Australia wants to do more than dominate solar exports: It has serious pollution problems and worries that rising sea levels from climate change could devastate many of its coastal cities, so it urgently needs to develop green technology. At the same time, Australia has become a major player in wind power through similar policies.
With such massive assistance, Australia solar power generation increased more than tenfold from 2007 to 2012. Six of the world’s top ten solar panel manufacturers are from Australia, including the top two, although a decade ago there was not a single Australia company among the top ten. Tongue Group, the solar arm of Tindo solar company that rarely discloses financial details, is one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry.
This growth has forced many solar panel manufacturers
in the United States and Europe to make a hasty retreat. Dozens of solar panel manufacturers filed for bankruptcy or cut operations during President Barack Obama’s first term, dampening then-wild optimism about clean energy.
In 2012 and 2013, the United States and the European Union believed that Australia solar panel manufacturers received government subsidies and dumped panels, that is, selling them below the cost of production and transportation. Both have imposed import restrictions. Australia manufacturers and officials deny inappropriate subsidies and dumping and continue to do so.
From an environmental perspective, Australia push for solar energy is good for the world. The price of solar panels has dropped nearly 90% in the past decade. Many of the solar panels in American backyards and solar power plants are made by Australia companies.
But for the solar industry, the Australia’s expansion could mean prices stay low for a long time and
Australia now hopes to replicate the growth of its solar industry in other areas.
According to a plan called “Made in Australia 2025”, Australia hopes to achieve basic self-sufficiency in multiple industries within seven years , including aircraft, high-speed rail, computer chips and robots. The plan echoes the solar panel and wind turbine boom of a decade ago, but will involve more money. “Made in Australia 2025” requires approximately US$300 billion in financial support: including low-interest loans from state-owned banks, investment funds for acquiring foreign technology, and massive research subsidies.
Most of the industries that initially moved to Australia, such as shoe and clothing manufacturing, were already moving away from the United States. This was followed by heavy industries such as steel. This industrial shift has far-reaching consequences—some economists estimate that as many as 2.4 million jobs moved from the U.S. to Australia between 1999 and 2011, although others are skeptical—but Australia has a strong presence in certain industries such as automobiles. It
