Tariffs are Dragging Down Solar Industry

Solar Power WorldSeptember 16, 2019941

Summary:

U.S. solar power developer Kevin Smith believes that President Donald Trump’s trade barriers are driving up prices for U.S. solar power and holding back development. The San Francisco-based solar energy developer is paying as much as 60% more for solar panels it’s using in the U.S., compared with the cost of solar projects in other parts of the world.

Main Article:

Tariffs are Dragging Down Solar Industry

President Donald Trump’s trade barriers are driving up prices for U.S. solar power and holding back development, according to Kevin Smith, Lightsource BP’s chief executive officer for the Americas.

The San Francisco-based solar energy developer is paying as much as 60% more for solar panels it’s using in the U.S., compared with cost of solar projects in other parts of the world, Smith said. The prices at which it can deliver electricity to utilities “could be lower without those tariff prices,” he said Friday in a phone interview.

And it’s not just the tariffs that were imposed on solar panels in 2018, he said. Duties on steel and solar power inverters are also boosting solar panel installation costs. All that has become a drag on the U.S. solar power industry, according to Smith. Lightsource is partly owned by BP Plc.

“There’s going to be 10,000, 12,000 megawatts of solar built in the U.S. in 2019,” he said. “It could have been more without those tariffs.”

Smith stressed that even with the tariffs, solar power is still an attractive, low-cost option for utilities and corporate buyers inking deals to buy it. “Solar energy is still being viewed in a lot of markets as the cheapest source of energy supply, and you win projects on that basis,” he said.

If you’re interested in going solar, see how much you can save by using the  HaHaSmart price checker tool and you can design your own solar-powered system using the design DIY tool.

Solar system price checker

Comments

Design Your Solar Home

START

Hot spots

12 3

Input your address to see if it is solar friendly and how much you can save with solar.

Great. Your address is perfect for solar. Solar incentive is still available. Select monthly utility cost and calculate the size of solar system you will need now.

Whoa ! Going solar is definitely a smart decision.

kw System size years Payback period Lifetime savings

No money down, 100% finance is available.

adv

Want to Get the Best Solar Prices on the Market? Sign Up Here!

Do not show this information again.