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Last week,
President Trump announced new
tariffs on imported solar panels and cells under the guise of
protecting American jobs.
What does this
decision mean?
The US solar
industry relies on imports for about 80 percent of the panels it
installs across the country. The 30 percent hit on imports after the
first 2.5 GW exempted each year is a big one, and it’s going to make
solar more expensive for everyday Americans – and could lead to many
American solar workers losing their jobs.
How much more
expensive will solar panels be?
GTM Research
looked at the final ruling and projected that a 30 percent tariff
will add $0.10/watt on average in the first year (stepping down in
future years). All told, this translates into roughly an 11 percent
net reduction in US solar installations through 2022, representing
about 1.2 million homes that now won’t be powered by solar.
What’s the
bottom line?
The new solar
tariffs will make solar more expensive in the US and cost American
jobs. All while failing to spur more domestic manufacturing and
slowing our response to the climate crisis.
That’s bad for
American workers, bad for the economy, and bad for our
planet.
Ready to learn
more? Read
our full blog post on what the solar tariffs means for Americans and
the future of our planet.
- Your friends at Climate Reality
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