Did Steve Bannon Hint at a Solar Trade War?

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (unwittingly) gave an interview this week, saying America is locked in "an economic war with China." Bannon mentioned arcane sections of the 1974 Trade Act to penalize China for alleged steel and aluminum dumping. Could solar be on the list, too? Bannon's comments suggest he's also paying attention to Section 201 of the trade act -- which is the foundation of Suniva and SolarWorld’s case for slapping severe penalties on imported solar cells and modules from Asia and the rest of the world. Those companies, plus dozens of other heavy hitters in solar, were in Washington this week to argue their case in front of the International Trade Commission. In this week's show, we’ll have the latest on solar trade politics. Then, we'll dig into a fascinating new study on second-order climate beliefs. It’s not just about what you believe -- it’s about what you believe others believe. Finally, we’ll revisit the rise of non-wires alternatives. More utilities are opting for distributed resources in place of traditional wires upgrades on the grid. We’ll discuss a new project in Arizona and then look across the landscape of other projects. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Recommended reading: The Messy Politics Surrounding the Solar Trade Case: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-messy-politics-surrounding-the-solar-trade-case The Importance of Second-Order Opinions for Climate Politics: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/74f6/8960cca93ebe036baea022bfaf2e4c4e9e70.pdf APS Buys Energy Storage From AES for Less Than Half the Cost of a Transmission Upgrade: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/aes-buys-energy-storage-for-less-than-half-the-cost-of-a-wires-upgrade