This week, President Trump created a solar panel tariff. The first year will see a 30% tariff.
Background
In May 2017, American solar panel manufacturer Suniva, later joined by SolarWorld, petitioned the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to take action restoring the damage done to the American solar panel manufacturers by imported solar panels. The ITC agreed after an investigation, and made suggestions to President Trump who agreed with the suggestions on Jan. 22.
While American solar panel manufacturers benefited, the decision harmed the rest of the solar industry. With higher costs, the number of jobs provided by the growing American solar industry will drop.
Bright Side
However, consequences may not be as bad as they sound. The solar panel tariff will last four years and drop five percent each year. By 2021, the last year of the tariff, it will only be 15 percent. Even with the tariff, solar panel prices will continue to drop as they have for years with each improvement of Chinese and Korean solar panel manufacturing. The tariff may not be noticeable by the time 2021 rolls around.
This is partly due to the percentage-based tariff rather than a fixed amount of money. As foreign solar panel prices drop, so will the tariff. Currently, the tariff adds 10-12 cents per watt in year one, which is a 3-4 percent increase for a resident looking to install an array. By the end of the tariff, it should only be adding 4-5 cents which is less than a 2 percent increase in price.
Though this was not the answer the solar industry hoped for, the impact may not be as bad as was first thought. With a North Carolina rebate program in the works, now could actually be the perfect time to install a solar array.
Read more about it:
How the 2018 U.S. solar tariff will impact the price you pay
