Four representatives - two Democrats and two Republicans - were responsible for the act's creation. The Democrats are Californian Mike Thompson and Texan Lloyd Doggett; the Republicans are Michigander Dave Camp and Ohioan Patrick Tiberi.
The act would provide a tax credit for the construction of solar equipment manufacturing. It would supplant the existing 30 percent tax credit for solar installations, granting a similar credit to facilities that make solar technology.
Michigan's Camp suggested that the credit "will not only help create jobs but help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels." Michigan is a state with a strong manufacturing base that has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn, so investments in solar manufacturing could benefit its economy greatly.
And the Solar Energy Industries Association lauded the bill, saying that it would provide "the support necessary to compete with other countries and continue creating jobs in the solar industry." America produced 40 percent of the world's photovoltaic cells a decade ago, the SEIA says, but only 5 percent today.
