In yet another decision by the Trump regime to put obstacles in the path of renewable energy, the pr*sident announced the imposition of a 30 percent tariff on solar cells and modules Monday. The tariff will drop to 15 percent in its fourth year. The target: China, which currently produces 61 percent of solar cells and 71 percent of solar modules, according to a fact sheet issued by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
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In the past decade, solar costs have plummeted. One reason: cheap imports from China and Chinese-based factories in other Asian countries. These imports have grown by 700 percent since 2007.
Putting a tariff on solar components comes in the wake of a decision and recommendations made last year by the U.S. International Trade Commission in response to a petition filed by two U.S.-based manufacturers of photovoltaic cells. These were the previously German-owned SolarWorld Industries Americas with about 300 workers in Oregon, and Suniva, a bankrupt Chinese-owned operation in Georgia that employs about 1,000 workers. SolarWorld had sought a 50 percent tariff.
Without mentioning the company’s Hong Kong ownership, Suniva spokesman Mark Paustenbach gave a deadpan statement in December when Trump’s stance on imposing the tariff became known:
“Suniva applauds the Trump Administration for championing American manufacturing in the face of cheating by China and its proxies who want to kill American jobs and make America dependent on China for its energy and security needs."
The tariff was presented by Pr*sident Trump as a means to "protect American jobs and American workers." In fact, it is widely seen in the U.S. solar industry as doing the opposite.
For instance, GTM Research forecast new solar installations will fall 11 percent between now and 2022 because of the tariff.
And while the tariff supposedly would give a boost to workers, only about 2,000 of the 38,000 workers employed in the manufacturing end of the industry make solar cells. The Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group, predicts that some 23,000 solar jobs of a total of about 260,000 will be lost in 2018 as decisions are made not to install solar. China has about 1.5 million workers in the solar industry.
The Department of Energy’s 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report points out that when it comes to generating clean electricity, jobs in renewables, including solar, now exceed those in fossil fuels by 5 to 1 or more, and the gap is growing. All told there are more than 1 million full-time or nearly full-time U.S. jobs in the energy efficiency, solar, wind, and alternative vehicles industries.
Here is a state-by-state breakdown of renewables jobs.
Billions of dollars in U.S. solar investments will also be lost because of the tariff, according to the SEIA:
“While tariffs in this case will not create adequate cell or module manufacturing to meet U.S. demand, or keep foreign-owned Suniva and SolarWorld afloat, they will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost tens of thousands of hard-working, blue-collar Americans their jobs,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO.
R Street Trade Policy Counsel Clark Packard said the Trump administration's decision is regrettable. [...]
“More good-paying jobs will be jeopardized by today’s decision than could possibly be saved by bailing out the bankrupt companies that petitioned for protection," Packard added. "Today's decision also will jeopardize the environment by making clean energy sources less affordable."
In a 2016 report from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory titled Emerging Opportunities and Challenges in U.S. Solar Manufacturing, the authors wrote that as far as the solar cell end of the industry is concerned, nobody is likely to outpace the Chinese:
China’s rise in manufacturing came about through a unique, complex, and interdependent set of circumstances. These included policy factors, financial factors, strong global market demand set against capacity shortages, and a resulting free flow of goods, services, and labor that accelerated the transfer of knowledge stocks into China. The rapid and protracted capacity build-out that followed is unlikely to be replicated because many of the key conditions that enabled the strong growth have begun to change.
That doesn’t mean the United States has no future in photovoltaic manufacture. In innovating advanced PV technologies, the U.S. holds clear advantages.
A potential alternative to the Trump regime’s tariff move would be to negotiate a multilateral global agreement eliminating tariffs on all solar components as a part of addressing climate change. A proposal with this as an objective was being worked on when the U.S. Trade Commission issued its recommendations on the solar tariff last year.
Here’s a sampling (hat tip to Tina Casey at Clean Technica) of responses to the imposition of the tariff:
Union of Concerned Scientists’ John Rogers, senior energy analyst:
“There’s widespread opposition to solar tariffs across the political and economic spectrum. This issue has united conservatives and liberals unlike anything else I’ve seen during Mr. Trump’s presidency. Sadly, his decision today burdens states with greater economic costs and attempts to derail clean energy progress.
“President Trump says his intention is to save jobs, but the specifics show this decision is a job killer. The first year of tariffs is high enough to blunt the growth of solar energy in the U.S. and hurt domestic solar jobs, but the package is not nearly enough to give U.S. solar panel manufacturers the ill-conceived walls of protectionism they were looking for.
American Council on Renewable Energy:
“The President’s decision to impose a 30 percent tariff on solar cells and modules will raise electricity prices even as it costs jobs in the solar energy sector. Make no mistake, this is the government intervening in the marketplace to reduce the expansion of solar energy.”
Vote Solar/Get Some Sun:
“There are a lot of ways to further support the growth of U.S. renewable energy manufacturing; this job-killing tariff is not one of them. Instead, this misguided decision to impose tariffs on solar products will negatively impact thousands of workers who depend on solar to support their families, and it will hurt American competitiveness in the global economy.”
GRID Alternatives:
“The Trump Administration’s decision to impose tariffs and quotas on solar panels is a setback for clean energy and jobs in frontline communities.”
Environmental Defense Fund:
“Trump’s decision is out of line with the needs of the American workforce and the clean energy economy, which is transitioning to renewables at an unprecedented pace.”
Natural Resources Defense Council’s Kevin Steinberger, policy analyst of the Climate and Clean Energy Program:
“President Trump just placed a huge and unnecessary hurdle in front of an industry that’s hitting its stride. This shortsighted and counterproductive decision couldn’t come at a worse time. We can’t afford to handicap such a critical resource for powering America’s clean energy economy.
“The cost of generating solar energy from rooftop panels has plummeted by more than 85 percent in less than a decade, but President Trump’s action will reverse that progress,” claims Steinberger. “Higher-priced panels will dramatically reduce the pace of new solar energy installations, increase climate-changing emissions, and lead to significant job losses nationwide.”
“Trump’s Solar Tariffs Will Kill Jobs, Increase Carbon Emissions & Drive Up Consumer Costs.”
Solar Energy Industries Association president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper:
“While tariffs in this case will not create adequate cell or module manufacturing to meet U.S. demand, or keep foreign-owned Suniva and SolarWorld afloat, they will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost tens of thousands of hard-working, blue-collar Americans their jobs,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s President and CEO.”
Smart Energy Power Alliance president and CEO Julia Hamm says:
“A robust, competitive solar market is essential to the United States’ transition to the clean, safe, affordable and resilient energy future that SEPA and all its members are working toward. The president’s action in the solar trade case will trigger economic disruptions in many segments of the industry, thus threatening our common vision and the many benefits clean energy can bring to American consumers and businesses.
“The challenge that lies before us will be to concentrate our efforts on accelerating the innovation and efficiency that will drive down costs across other parts of the energy value chain. For example, SEPA has partnered with the Department of Energy and other stakeholders on the Orange Button initiative, which is already helping to lower financing and other soft costs for solar projects. It is but one example of the kind of solutions our industry will develop to benefit utilities, consumers, the solar industry and the grid — regardless of federal policy decisions.”