#solar tariffs

Here’s the goofy angle about trump’s tariffs, beyond trump being an ass and not understanding anything. The two companies that whined that they were being priced out of business as a consequence of importation of solar cells are owned by company based in China and a company based in Germany. So, not American owned. About 6% of the panels installed in the US are manufactured in the US. Most experts are saying that the tariffs, particularly with the embedded exemptions and four-year phase down, will do nothing to incent the creation of manufacturing facilities in the US.

The existing solar panel manufacturers in the US employ, together, about 2,000. The solar installation industry guesses that the effect of the tariffs will reduce employment in the solar installation sector and in sectors that manufacture the parts necessary to assembly solar roofs and solar plants by about 23,000. So, you do the arithmetic.

Additionally, the move threatens to create retaliatory tariffs against imports from the US to other countries.

I don’t think there’s a “help the coal industry” element to this. I think it’s trump and his advisors just being their usual ignorant selves.

Excerpt:

Over the last eight years, an influx of cheap imported panels has driven down the cost of solar projects by 85 percent, according to Lazard, a financial advisory company. As a result, the number of solar installations has soared to 12 gigawatts last year, from less than one gigawatt in 2010.

While the tariffs are likely to slow the adoption of solar power in the United States, they will not entirely halt the industry. An analysis by GTM Research found that solar installations will continue to rise from 2018 to 2022, though there will be 11 percent fewer panels installed as a result of the tariffs.

One reason for the muted effect: Solar cells and modules account for one-third or less of the overall cost of solar systems, and the industry has been relentlessly cutting the costs of all components. All told, the tariffs will increase the cost of utility-scale solar projects by about 10 percent and residential rooftop systems by just 3 percent — raising them roughly to prices seen two years ago.

Viability of lower solar tariff to depend on PV module prices, pass-through of duty: ICRA

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The tariff discovered in the recently concluded tranche IX auction for inter-State transmission systems (ISTS) solar projects by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is lower at ₹2.36/Kwh, than the tariff of ₹2.44/Kwh discovered in May 2017.

As per an ICRA note, the lower tariff is driven by a fall in the global solar module prices caused by the lull in demand owing to the Covid-19…

China Files WTO Complaint over U.S. Solar Tariffs

China’s latest shot in a tit-for-tat trade war is a World Trade Organization Complaint over U.S. solar tariffs.

China filed a complaint with the WTO to help determine the legality of the U.S. policies, saying they not only harm China’s rights but also undermine the WTO’s authority, according to Reuters. China says the U.S. tariffs and the U.S. “decision to subsidize renewable energy firms” has…

New Post has been published on http://www.mselectriclv.net/solar-tariffs/

SunPower: Tariff Exclusion Would Free Funds to Open New US Solar Manufacturing Facilities

SunPower Corporation would like an exclusion from the 30% Solar Tariff’s The President has imposed on imported Solar Panels and if they receive that exclusion, they plan to build a manufacturing plant in the U.S. […]

Click here to view original web page at www.greentechmedia.com

Solar industry stakeholders filed applications with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative last week seeking exclusions from the Trump administration’s 30 percent tariff on imported solar products.

Requests were due Friday night and a total of 55 comments were ultimately received, according to the USTR docket.

California-based Solaria Corporation, Korea’s Hanwha Q Cells and EU ProSun, a group representing 80 percent of European solar cell and module production, were among those to submit requests. Inverter manufacturers Enphase and SolarEdge also filed comments seeking exemptions for their integrated solar module products.

U.S. solar firm SunPower — one of the companies hardest hit by the trade action — made its case too. The company specifically requested to have its Copper-Plated IBC Cells and Copper-Plated Modules excluded from the safeguard measures Trump placed on imported crystalline-silicon (CSPV) solar cells and modules.

“Copper-plated, interdigitated back contact (IBC) technology is fundamentally different than other solar technologies, whether silicon-based or otherwise,” the filing states.

In the absence of a tariff exclusion, SunPower said it will have to follow through on layoffs and forego investments in U.S.-based solar manufacturing.

“We are a leading innovator that has made significant research and development investments in the U.S. and we have helped to stimulate the American economy with many thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity,” the filing states. “While the tariffs have contributed to layoffs for SunPower, those job losses would be materially reversed and manufacturing and research and development jobs added, should we receive an exclusion.”

“In particular, an exclusion for both our Copper-Plated IBC Cells and Copper-Plated Modules would free SunPower to devote substantial resources that otherwise would be dedicated to satisfying its additional customs duty liability to investments in next-generation research and development in the United States, as well as the establishment of U.S. manufacturing facilities dedicated to SunPower’s P-Series modules, for which an exclusion is not being requested.”

“The 201 process motivated us”

SunPower’s decision to establish new module manufacturing operations in the U.S. stems from the recent Section 201 trade case, said CEO Tom Werner.

“We’re always evaluating the state of manufacturing and where to manufacture, and the 201 process motivated us to further evaluate doing P-Series manufacturing in the U.S.,” he said in an interview.

P-Series panels are based on the technology SunPower acquired through Cogenra. The company claims the shingled design eliminates many of the reliability challenges associated with traditional front contact panels, while offering superior power and efficiency.

The U.S. is a well-suited location to manufacture these solar panels “because the equipment we acquired from Cogenra is unique and highly automated and configurable to satisfy local demand in a flexible way,” Werner said.

He added that opening new U.S.-manufacturing facilities — should SunPower be exempt from the Trump administration’s safeguard measures — would create jobs “on the order of hundreds.” Likely in the low hundreds, he said, but couldn’t commit to a specific number at this point.

Meanwhile, one of the few companies to announce new or expanded U.S.-based manufacturing in the wake of Trump’s tariff decision, Jinko Solar, has dramatically scaled-down its plans. The Chinese company was initially planning to invest $410 million on a solar module assembly and distribution facility in Jacksonville, Florida and create 800 jobs in the process — which was the most promising employment news to stem from the trade case. Under a new agreement, however, Jinko will invest a total of $50.5 million and create just 200 jobs.

SunPower argues its case

SunPower currently produces most of its solar panels in Asia and Mexico. But the company noted that its copper-plated, IBC technology was conceived and developed in the U.S. and claimed that the patents and manufacturing processes associated with it are considered American assets.

Trade actions disproportionately affect SunPower’s products because its technology comes at a higher price, which stems from higher-cost raw materials and considerably more complex manufacturing procedures. At the same time, because these products have a unique design and distinct features, they’re not directly competitive with conventional CSPV solar products, SunPower argued.

Solar modules made with copper-plated, IBC technology offer superior efficiency, superior durability, better aesthetics and better overall performance, according to SunPower. The technology is also available from only one source, and because of that a safeguard exclusion would be easy to administer.

Another one of SunPower’s key arguments is that granting an exclusion request furthers the objectives of the safeguard measures, while addressing unintended negative consequences. The Section 201 case, like previous U.S. solar trade cases, targeted artificially-low-priced solar products — based on the conventional solar technology employed by petitioners in those cases — that were being dumped in the U.S. market in increasing amounts.

“Solar products based on copper-plated, IBC comprise a small percentage of total solar imports, have not been imported in materially increasing quantities, have not benefited from unfair trade practices, and have struggled to compete against products targeted in past trade actions,” SunPower stated.

Imports of copper-plated IBC products have been limited over the past few years, while imports of front-contact CSPV products surged. If excluded, SunPower IBC modules will continue to comprise a small share of total solar imports and “would not be a material threat to the domestic solar manufacturing industry.”

SunPower requested that exclusions for its products be applied retroactively to February 7, the effective date of the safeguard measures, and that U.S. Customs and Border Protection refund any tariffs paid on SunPower’s copper-plated products as a consequence of the trade action.

http://www.getsolarize.com/how-solar-tariffs-will-hurt-solar-growth-state-by-state/

Forecast Shows How Solar Tariffs Will Hurt Growth, State by State

Which states will be hit hardest by Trump’s solar tariffs? A new analysis reveals how the Trump administration’s recently imposed solar tariffs could hinder installations at the state level. The tariffs are predicted to reduce the projected pipeline of new solar construction in the U.S. by 7.6 gigawatts over the next 5 years[…]

Click here to view original web page at www.greentechmedia.com

As the country’s largest solar market, California stands to lose the most from the 30 percent tariff, with an expected 1,079-megawatt decline in new solar capacity between 2018 and 2022. California is trailed by Texas and Florida, which are expected to lose 674 megawatts and 513 megawatts, respectively.

Nationally, the GTM Research analysis shows that utility-scale solar will bear the brunt of the losses, accounting for 65 percent of the anticipated decline.

                                  States won’t feel the full impact of the tariffs until next year, as older projects wrap up and stockpiles of modules begin to dwindle. U.S. companies currently have at least 2 gigawatts of tariff-free modules reserved for 2018 projects.

“I know of no project, at this point, that is not going to be built because of the tariffs,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association. ”People are scrappy, and they can come up with ways to get the job done.”

San Jose-based manufacturer SunPower announced last week that it was suspending $20 million in investments, which would have created hundreds of jobs at its facilities in California and Texas. SunPower makes its high-efficiency solar modules in Mexico and Malaysia, both of which are subject to the new import tariffs. The company is one of many asking the Trump administration to exclude its product from the new trade measures.

“Any increase in solar costs will have an impact on participation in ERCOT, so it’s certainly a challenge,” said Charlie Hemmeline, the executive director of the Texas Solar Power Association. ERCOT operates the Texas electric grid and manages the deregulated market for most of the state.

Hemmeline said he hasn’t heard of any pending job cuts yet and continues to feel optimistic despite the new tariffs. “We’ve got all the fundamentals that you need here, with the land, the sun and the economics that will make this work.”

The percentages tell a different story. While installations are expected to drop by about 11 percent nationally, California, Delaware and North Carolina should only see modest declines of 7 percent. Texas is only slightly above average, with losses coming in at 13 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, Montana’s solar market is predicted to plummet by nearly 50 percent.

“Montana is going to be creamed because Montana, as a state, doesn’t do anything to drive renewable energy,” said Del Chiaro.

                                      The reason for the dramatic differences between states can be attributed to regional market size and local renewable energy policies. New and emerging state solar markets are disproportionately affected by the tariffs, with Southern states like Texas, Florida and South Carolina among the most significantly impacted. States with strong renewable portfolio standards are among the least sensitive to the trade measures.

“There’s no meaningful impact in California,” said Morten Lund, a solar industry attorney for Stoel Rives. “They could put a 1,000 percent tariff on solar, and we would still be doing solar in California. The political will for solar here is incredibly strong and powerful.”

California’s has a 50 percent renewable energy target on the books for 2030, as well as a 1,300-megawatt storage target.

A 7 percent decline in new solar installations could still translate into significant job losses for the state. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that tariffs will cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year alone, and nearly 40 percent of solar jobs are in California.

Montana and Idaho top the list for solar demand loss by percentage, largely due to changes state legislators made to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA. By shortening the length of PURPA contracts for solar projects, the states made it difficult for developers to receive financing due to price uncertainty.

“I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as bad as folks think it’s going to be,” predicted Scot Arey, owner of Solar CenTex, a small-scale installer in central Texas. “If Texas electricity prices start rising, and I think they will, then residential installers are going to be just fine.”

Texas, which currently lacks an RPS and has no default net metering policies, is expected to see a 17 percent decline in residential installations, the second highest in the nation. Pennsylvania tops the list with a projected 27 percent decline. In terms of absolute megawatts, major residential state markets in California and the Northeast will see the largest declines.

The U.S. solar market is expected to lose almost 5 gigawatts of utility-scale installations. To replace the lost capacity, wind installations could increase by nearly 800 megawatts from 2018 to 2021, according to an analysis by MAKE Consulting. Most of the new wind additions are forecast for Texas, California and Western states that need to meet renewable energy targets.

Natural gas could also capture some lost solar demand, but many PV projects are likely to be delayed rather than replaced by another power source, said Cory Honeyman, a solar analyst with GTM Research.

“This just pushes out certain utilities’ procurement timelines for large-scale solar from the 2019 to 2021 timeframe to 2022 and 2023, as the tariffs expire altogether,” said Honeyman.

The 30 percent tariff is scheduled to phase down by 5 percent annually over a four-year period. That translates into an average 10-cent per watt increase in year-one prices for modules, stepping down to a 4-cent per watt premium by year four.

Even with the new tariffs, GTM Research expects the industry to deploy more than 10 gigawatts of solar installations in the U.S. this year and 11.9 gigawatts next year, with continuous growth through 2022. But that growth will be at a slower pace than initially expected.

http://www.getsolarize.com/how-solar-tariffs-will-hurt-solar-growth-state-by-state/

Forecast Shows How Solar Tariffs Will Hurt Growth, State by State

Which states will be hit hardest by Trump’s solar tariffs? A new analysis reveals how the Trump administration’s recently imposed solar tariffs could hinder installations at the state level. The tariffs are predicted to reduce the projected pipeline of new solar construction in the U.S. by 7.6 gigawatts over the next 5 years[…]

Click here to view original web page at www.greentechmedia.com

As the country’s largest solar market, California stands to lose the most from the 30 percent tariff, with an expected 1,079-megawatt decline in new solar capacity between 2018 and 2022. California is trailed by Texas and Florida, which are expected to lose 674 megawatts and 513 megawatts, respectively.

Nationally, the GTM Research analysis shows that utility-scale solar will bear the brunt of the losses, accounting for 65 percent of the anticipated decline.

                                  States won’t feel the full impact of the tariffs until next year, as older projects wrap up and stockpiles of modules begin to dwindle. U.S. companies currently have at least 2 gigawatts of tariff-free modules reserved for 2018 projects.

“I know of no project, at this point, that is not going to be built because of the tariffs,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association. ”People are scrappy, and they can come up with ways to get the job done.”

San Jose-based manufacturer SunPower announced last week that it was suspending $20 million in investments, which would have created hundreds of jobs at its facilities in California and Texas. SunPower makes its high-efficiency solar modules in Mexico and Malaysia, both of which are subject to the new import tariffs. The company is one of many asking the Trump administration to exclude its product from the new trade measures.

“Any increase in solar costs will have an impact on participation in ERCOT, so it’s certainly a challenge,” said Charlie Hemmeline, the executive director of the Texas Solar Power Association. ERCOT operates the Texas electric grid and manages the deregulated market for most of the state.

Hemmeline said he hasn’t heard of any pending job cuts yet and continues to feel optimistic despite the new tariffs. “We’ve got all the fundamentals that you need here, with the land, the sun and the economics that will make this work.”

The percentages tell a different story. While installations are expected to drop by about 11 percent nationally, California, Delaware and North Carolina should only see modest declines of 7 percent. Texas is only slightly above average, with losses coming in at 13 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, Montana’s solar market is predicted to plummet by nearly 50 percent.

“Montana is going to be creamed because Montana, as a state, doesn’t do anything to drive renewable energy,” said Del Chiaro.

                                      The reason for the dramatic differences between states can be attributed to regional market size and local renewable energy policies. New and emerging state solar markets are disproportionately affected by the tariffs, with Southern states like Texas, Florida and South Carolina among the most significantly impacted. States with strong renewable portfolio standards are among the least sensitive to the trade measures.

“There’s no meaningful impact in California,” said Morten Lund, a solar industry attorney for Stoel Rives. “They could put a 1,000 percent tariff on solar, and we would still be doing solar in California. The political will for solar here is incredibly strong and powerful.”

California’s has a 50 percent renewable energy target on the books for 2030, as well as a 1,300-megawatt storage target.

A 7 percent decline in new solar installations could still translate into significant job losses for the state. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that tariffs will cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year alone, and nearly 40 percent of solar jobs are in California.

Montana and Idaho top the list for solar demand loss by percentage, largely due to changes state legislators made to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA. By shortening the length of PURPA contracts for solar projects, the states made it difficult for developers to receive financing due to price uncertainty.

“I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as bad as folks think it’s going to be,” predicted Scot Arey, owner of Solar CenTex, a small-scale installer in central Texas. “If Texas electricity prices start rising, and I think they will, then residential installers are going to be just fine.”

Texas, which currently lacks an RPS and has no default net metering policies, is expected to see a 17 percent decline in residential installations, the second highest in the nation. Pennsylvania tops the list with a projected 27 percent decline. In terms of absolute megawatts, major residential state markets in California and the Northeast will see the largest declines.

The U.S. solar market is expected to lose almost 5 gigawatts of utility-scale installations. To replace the lost capacity, wind installations could increase by nearly 800 megawatts from 2018 to 2021, according to an analysis by MAKE Consulting. Most of the new wind additions are forecast for Texas, California and Western states that need to meet renewable energy targets.

Natural gas could also capture some lost solar demand, but many PV projects are likely to be delayed rather than replaced by another power source, said Cory Honeyman, a solar analyst with GTM Research.

“This just pushes out certain utilities’ procurement timelines for large-scale solar from the 2019 to 2021 timeframe to 2022 and 2023, as the tariffs expire altogether,” said Honeyman.

The 30 percent tariff is scheduled to phase down by 5 percent annually over a four-year period. That translates into an average 10-cent per watt increase in year-one prices for modules, stepping down to a 4-cent per watt premium by year four.

Even with the new tariffs, GTM Research expects the industry to deploy more than 10 gigawatts of solar installations in the U.S. this year and 11.9 gigawatts next year, with continuous growth through 2022. But that growth will be at a slower pace than initially expected.