Forecast Shows How Trump Tariffs Will Hurt Solar Growth, State by State

California and Texas are hit hardest on a megawatt basis; Montana and Idaho face the steepest percentage declines.

By Lacey Johnson, Greentech Media

A new analysis reveals how the Trump administration's recently imposed solar tariffs could hinder installations at the state level.

The tariffs are predicted to reduce the projected pipeline of new solar construction in the U.S. by 7.6 gigawatts over the next five years, according to GTM Research. Some states will get hit harder than others. 

As the country’s largest solar market, California stands to lose the most from the 30 percent tariff, with an expected 1,079-megawatt decline in new solar capacity between 2018 and 2022. California is trailed by Texas and Florida, which are expected to lose 674 megawatts and 513 megawatts, respectively. 

Nationally, the GTM Research analysis shows that utility-scale solar will bear the brunt of the losses, accounting for 65 percent of the anticipated decline. 

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Source: GTM Research

Source: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/forecast-shows-how-tariffs-will-hurt-solar-growth-state-by-state#gs.ULQidP0

ees North America Adds Special Exhibition Focused on Electric Vehicles and Charging Technology

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ees North America, the leading exhibition and conference for the electrical energy storage industry, announced its third annual event will feature Power2Drive, a new special exhibition devoted to the rapidly growing electric vehicle industry and charging technology. In addition to presentations on the show floor, Power2Drive North America will also feature a one-day conference track dedicated to the key technologies and policies creating opportunities for energy storage companies in the transportation sector. 

The ees North Americacall for speakers is currently open, with a submission deadline of February 23, 2018.  

Each year, ees North America attracts energy storage suppliers, manufacturers and distributors to the heart of the leading U.S. energy storage market: San Francisco. Co-located with Intersolar North America, the premier solar event in North America, ees North America provides a perfect match for attendees looking to explore topics within solar-plus-storage and more. It also provides a valuable platform for those looking to learn more about the rapidly growing energy storage industry, which is expected to be worth more than $4.4 billion in the United States along by 2022, according to GTM Research, as well as the promising electric vehicle (EV) market. 

Market leaders and emerging start-ups alike will connect on the show floor and during valuable networking events, and visitors will learn from industry experts throughout insightful conference sessions. The conference program is developed in collaboration with ees North America's roster of partners, including NAATBatt International (NAATBatt), the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA), and others. 

This year's conference program will focus on integrated solar-plus-storage applications as this coupling is an increasingly predominant force in accelerating the renewable energy transition. Power2Drive sessions will focus on the global EV market, batteries, charging technology and related business models, and costs. 

The conference will be held at Moscone West and feature the following sessions:

• Ten ees North America conference sessions and workshops over a two-day program
• Four Power2Drive conference sessions over a one-day program
• An ees North America exhibition stage program featuring workshops and presentations from exhibitors, with one day dedicated to ees North America and one day dedicated to Power2Drive North America

"ees North America has a strong track record of attracting the industry's most exciting companies to San Francisco, and providing opportunities for executives to make meaningful business connections and learn about market trends," said Florian Wessendorf and Daniel Strowitzki, managing directors of ees North America, in a joint statement. "Because we are the first major energy storage event in North America each year, our attendees see the newest technologies and hear about the latest trends first. That commitment to staying ahead of market trends is behind our newest special exhibition segment, Power2Drive, which will examine the cross-section of solar technology, energy storage, and smart transportation and will grow into a future industry hotspot." 

Information on exhibiting at ees North America and Power2Drive is available online. CALSEIA and NAATBatt members are eligible for discounted exhibition rates of 24 percent, and Power2Drive exhibitors are also offered a special introductory pricing for booth space this year. Registration for the 2018 events will open in mid March, and attendees can sign up to receive Intersolar and ees North America registration updates here.

About ees North America

Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies, ees North America is the leading exhibition and conference for the electrical energy storage industry. ees North America connects manufacturers, distributers, users and suppliers of stationary and mobile storage products in the epicenter of the U.S. storage market, California. 

Co-located with Intersolar North America, North America's premier solar event, ees North America provides the best opportunity to explore energy storage systems in combination with solar technologies and beyond. This year, ees North America will feature the new special exhibition Power2Drive, focused on charging infrastructure, EV batteries and electric vehicles.Together, the events are co-located with SEMICON West at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. 

In 2017, 130 energy storage exhibitors and 15,000 attendees participated in ees North America and Intersolar North America

Launched in 2015 as a special exhibition, ees North America became a standalone exhibition and conference in 2016, and is now part of the ees global exhibition series. Together with ees Europe in Munich, ees South America in São Paulo, and ees India in Mumbai, ees events are represented on four continents.

For more information on ees North America please visit www.ees-northamerica.com

Organizers: Intersolar and ees North America are organized by Solar Promotion International GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Management and Marketing International GmbH (FMMI).   

Exhibiting Contact
Jim Callihan | Tel: +1 603-547-7057 | rel="nofollow">callihan@intersolar.us

Source: http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ees-North-America-Adds-Special-Exhibition-Focused-on-Electric-Vehicles-and-Charging-Technology-1014450465

Trump approves tariffs on imported solar cells, modules

By Jody Gill, the Hugo Observer

The announcement comes after the International Trade Commission's ruling in September that the companies SolarWorld AG and Suniva couldn't compete with cheap solar panel imports.

The solar tariff is lower than requested by the original petitioners in the case, Suniva and SolarWorld. "Which is hard and challenging when you already have been working so hard to reduce costs on every aspect of the installation process", said Jeanine Cotter, member of the California Solar Energy Industries Association. "Right now I think we have about 20 to 25 slots left for residential customers to sign up and avoid the tariffs".

According to SEIA, the tariffs could lead to the loss of approximately 23,000 U.S.jobs this year and delay or cancel substantial amounts of investments in solar. Each year, the first 2.5 gigawatts of solar cells imported into the country will be exempt from the tariffs.

The move is in line with President Donald Trump's "America First" trade policy, which aims to protect local manufacturers from foreign competition.

"Although we are now building the largest solar cell and module manufacturing plant in the U.S., we still oppose the petition", Tesla told Axios. The tariffs on solar products last four years starting at 30 percent, falling to 15 percent in the fourth year.

The outlook for overseas expansion by Chinese solar companies is not optimistic due to frequent trade disputes, the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) warned in a statement on Tuesday.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said: "The President's action makes clear again that the Trump Administration will always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses in this regard". The group says there are more U.S.jobs in installing solar panels, maintenance and building related components than in the actual manufacture of solar panels, and it is these jobs that will be deeply impacted.

This is the first major unilateral tariff decision made by the president, and signals a more aggressive approach toward Chinese trade practices. This tariff is a tax on every consumer who wants to buy a washing machine.

In the US, an association representing solar installers said the solar panel tariff will lead to the delay or cancellation of billions of dollars of investment in solar energy.

Source: http://hugoobserver.com/2018/01/26/trump-approves-tariffs-on-imported-solar-cells-modules/

Tariff's Fallout on CA Solar Industry Raises Fears

A member of the California Energy Commission, along with many in the solar industry and environmental movements, is warning that the Trump administration's planned tariffs on imported solar technology could cost jobs and raise prices for homeowners.

Administration officials framed the 30 percent tariffs as a way to protect domestic manufacturers and take a more aggressive stance toward China, which produces a number of the photovoltaic cells and modules that go into solar panels. About 80 percent of solar equipment is made abroad and imported to the U.S.

California state officials, solar businesses and industry groups say U.S. manufacturers can't keep pace with production in China, and they fear that the move could slow the adoption of renewable energy, raise the price of solar panels and cost the region jobs.

"I think it's a self-inflicted wound," said David Hochschild, one of five members of the California Energy Commission, the state agency that focuses on energy policy. "Any policies that arbitrarily raise the price of clean, domestic sources of energy like solar are a mistake, and I think the evidence is very strong that when you do that kind of thing, it results in a net reduction in total solar industry jobs."

"This is a political decision for the president and I think it's unfortunate because people on the left and right embrace solar energy," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association.

The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates the tariffs will eliminate some 23,000 jobs this year. Many of those could be in California, which is home to around 100,000 of the country's 260,000 solar energy jobs, Hochschild said. The solar industry provides more than 2,000 jobs in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties alone.

"There will be a big impact for us here," Hochschild said, adding that manufacturing makes up 10 to 15 percent of solar industry jobs, while most of the jobs are in support and maintenance and sales, which could be adversely affected by the tariff.

By Tribune News Service, Techwire Insider

Some of the leading solar companies saw the tariff coming, Hochschild said, and stocked up on panels ahead of time.

Del Chiaro said local governments could mitigate the effects of the tariff by relaxing other costs for things like building permits. But Hochschild pointed out that a number of incentives for going solar have expired, and he said softening the blow will not be easy. The tariff reportedly includes a 30 percent solar import tax for crystalline-silicon solar cells and modules, which steps down by 5 percentage points each year to 15 percent by the fourth year, according to Green Tech Media. In addition, GTM reported, 2.5 gigawatts of cells are exempt from the tariffs each year.

While most of the solar industry voiced its opposition, the tariffs were requested by two solar manufacturers — bankrupt solar company Suniva and the U.S. subsidiary of Germany's SolarWorld — which contend that the increase in imported panels in the last five years sent prices plummeting and harmed business.

Trump supporters celebrated the move as another indication of the president's commitment to bringing manufacturing jobs back home.

"The president's action makes clear again that the Trump administration will always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses in this regard," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement announcing the decision.

Said Hochschild: "Virtually every solar company will be impacted by this."

Source: http://www.techwire.net/news/tariffs-fallout-on-ca-solar-industry-raises-fears.html