Title of Dissertation: national renewable energy policy

Figure 19. 
Actor congruence network 
Note: Node size is a function of statement frequency. Node color indicates the country of 
origin of each organization. Blue indicates U.S. organizations, Red indicates Chinese 
organizations, and Black indicates the organizations based on other countries. Node 
shape indicates the type of organization. Circle indicates state actors, Square indicates 
solar panel manufacturers, Diamond indicates solar companies other than panel 
manufacturers, Up triangle indicates industry association, and Down triangle indicates 
experts. 
The anti-Chinese solar panel group has a single dominant actor, SolarWorld. 
SolarWorld has released 44 statements alone. Other than SolarWorld and Senator Ron 
Wyden, the actors in the anti-Chinese solar panel group were not very active. A majority 
of them released only one statement. Compared to the anti-Chinese solar panel group, the 
pro-Chinese solar panel group has more diversity. There is no single dominant actor. 
Chinese state actors, Chinese solar manufacturers, industry associations, and the U.S.-
based industry coalition actively participated in policy discussion.
Multinational corporations headquartered in other countries have played a critical 
role in framing the issue of Chinese solar panels in the United States. SolarWorld led the 

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anti-Chinese solar panel group, while Suntech and Yingli Green Energy were among the 
most dominant actors in pro-Chinese solar panel group. Compared to these multinational 
corporations headquartered in other countries, the U.S.-based solar corporations were not 
dominant in framing. They were divided into two coalitions. The U.S. solar panel 
manufacturers tended to be in the anti-Chinese solar panel group, and the installers 
tended to join in the pro-Chinese solar panel group.
Framing in the solar panel trade issue field
 
Top 20 frequently used words in the U.S.-China solar panel trade issue shows that 
the issue was framed as an economic issue rather than an environmental issue. Any word 
related to the environment was not included in the top 20 frequently used words (Table 
14). Rather, a number of words related to economy have frequently used to report the 
U.S.-China solar panel trade issue. Trade, companies, industry, and manufacturers were 
included in the frequently used words.

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