Tariff enforcing will lead to devastating effect on solar energy industry – SEIA

In the United States, 46 percent fewer solar panels will be installed this and next year due to the US government’s investigation into the circumvention of import duties. This is reported by Industry Association SEIA.

At the end of March, the investigation started into the evasion of import tariffs on solar cells and solar panels by diverted imports from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. This was after the US company Auxin Solar filed a request for enforcement and an investigation.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has been conducting research among its supporters on the impact of government research ever since. At the beginning of April, more than 90 percent of the companies surveyed indicated that the department’s actions have a serious or devastating impact on their business results.

While three-quarters of U.S. solar companies previously said that solar panel deliveries have been canceled or delayed since the Department of the economy launched its investigation into import tax evasion, among the 730 companies that took part in the survey, that has risen to 80 percent. According to SEIA’s new analysis, 24 gigawatt peak of already planned solar panel installations will not be realized in the next 2 years; more than America installed in all of 2021.

100,000 jobs lost

“If new tariffs are imposed, 100,000 U.S. solar workers will lose their jobs in an instant and we will lose all hope of meeting president Biden’s clean energy goals,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and chief executive officer of SEIA.

“This would be a huge loss for our nation and sector, which has the potential to lead our clean energy future, with the right policies. Instead, the Department of Commerce is on track to wipe out nearly half of all jobs in solar.’

A total of 318 projects, accounting for 51 gigawatt peak solar power capacity and 6 gigawatt hours of connected batteries, will be canceled or delayed. Furthermore, 52 billion US dollars of private investment is at stake. In addition, 70 percent of respondents report that at least half of their solar and storage workforce is at risk, and more than 200 companies report that their entire workforce is at risk.