From: "Rebecca Van Nichols" <rvan@tnag.net>
Date: Mar 29, 2014 7:54 PM
Subject: Solar PR Memo to SolarWorld: Is It Time for the Win-Win-Win?
To: "M" <mbannerman@arcstarenergy.com>
Cc:
Solar PR Memo to SolarWorld: Is It Time for the Win-Win-Win?
Tor 'Solar Fred' Valenza, UnThink Solar
March 28, 2014 | 13 Comments
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Dear SolarWorld,
As a solar advocate and solar marketing consultant, I’d like to offer you some unsolicited PR and damage control advice again, this time regarding your most recent trade suit against China and Taiwan. Please value this advice for what it’s worth (free!).
(For those readers needing a quickie review of SolarWorld’s trade complaint, here’s a nice summary here, and from the SolarWorld perspective, here.)
First, let me congratulate you on all of your public relations efforts to boost support for your cause. Your solar marketing and PR team has really done as much as any company can. For everyone’s solar PR education, you’ve:
- Created CASM, a U.S. solar manufacturing advocacy organization that supports your efforts to place tariffs on Chinese (and now Taiwan) imports.
- You’ve complied a list of 243 employers with 20,872 American workers who support your efforts.
- You’ve released your own estimates that you’ve injected 1.5 billon into the U.S. economy since 2008, showing your value as a U.S. employer. (Of course, you rarely mention that your parent company is German, but there’s no doubt that you support U.S. jobs here.)
- You’ve created nice videos that show your support for your U.S. workers and U.S. made products.
- You’ve released many press releases about your trade case and why you think it’s worthy.
All good. And of course, you’ve not only won your first trade case against China, but now, after an additional filing, the International Trade Commission (ITC) recently found evidence that Chinese-made solar products are harming American manufacturers via the Taiwan loophole.
Despite that success, I have to tell you that this most recent trade case — whatever its merits — is also causing significant damage to your brand. Here’s how:
- First of all, the vast majority of the U.S. solar industry has not rallied around your cause. Even given your count of 20,872 workers, there are now more than 142,000 U.S. solar workers in the U.S., and most of those jobs are installer related. So, that’s a little less than 15 percent of the industry.
- Second, your actions have inspired the creation of CASE, an extremely vocal anti-tariff organization led by SunEdison’s co-founder Jigar Shah. While CASE’s publicmembers list has fewer members, they include some notable solar brand names, like SolarCity, SunRun, Sungevity, and others. So, right or wrong, you’re upsetting some significant market residential leaders.
- Third, your suits have caused China toimpose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. polysilicon imports to China, affecting another solar sector and its jobs.
- Fourth, your trade case is causing a lot of uncertainty on cost projections for new projects, especially large solar PV projects.
- Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, SEIA, the leading U.S. solar trade group, does not support more punitive tariffs on China and is publicly urging you to settle your suit. When your country’s main trade group tells you to find another way, that’s a bad sign.
But here’s what may really hurt your brand. Ironically, while your suit is supposed to be
So, from a PR perspective, yes, you’ve certainly made the point that winning your case will help preserve SolarWorld manufacturing jobs, but you have not shown how winning will help your U.S. installers to grow their businesses. On the contrary, it will most likely hurt their businesses, and they will probably blame that drop in revenues on the SolarWorld brand.
The Win-Win-Win
All the above being said, I don’t think SEIA or any installer wants you to fail or go out of business. They just don’t want solar panel and installation prices to rise again.
And that leads us to the Win-Win-Win opportunity currently before you.
SEIA has proposed a settlement in which Chinese manufacturers will contribute to a fund that benefits U.S. solar manufacturers. The formula is complex, but the bottom line is that if you accept that settlement, then you get to level the playing field and receive extra financial support for every Chinese panel sold in the U.S. That’s the first Win.
The second Win is that solar prices and solar supply will remain stable, enabling your installer customers to continue to grow and offer lower installation prices.
Win #3 is PR. You get credit for leading the charge for U.S.-China fair trade and U.S. manufacturing jobs, and you look great for agreeing to a solution that supports your installer customers, too. Perhaps that’s Win #4.
So, as your unsolicited PR and damage control advisor and as a solar advocate for you and the entire solar industry, I urge you:
Please settle this and let’s all continue to install more solar around the world.
Tor Valenza a.k.a. “Solar Fred” is a solar marketing and communications consultant and the author of Solar Fred's Guide to Solar Guerrilla Marketing. Sign up for the Solar Fred Marketing Newsletter, or contact him through UnThink Solar. You can also follow @SolarFred on Twitter.
The information and views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on this Web site and other publications. This blog was posted directly by the author and was not reviewed for accuracy, spelling or grammar.
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