Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Dr. Willie Soon – solar installers are blaming President Trump for a slump in their industry. But President Trump’s solar tariffs have far greater implications for US manufacturing than a few disgruntled installers.
Billions in U.S. solar projects shelved after Trump panel tariff
Nichola Groom
JUNE 7, 2018 / 3:08 PM(Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s tariff on imported solar panels has led U.S. renewable energy companies to cancel or freeze investments of more than $2.5 billion in large installation projects, along with thousands of jobs, the developers told Reuters.
That’s more than double the about $1 billion in new spending plans announced by firms building or expanding U.S. solar panel factories to take advantage of the tax on imports.
…
The U.S. solar industry employs more than 250,000 people – about three times more than the coal industry – with about 40 percent of those people in installation and 20 percent in manufacturing, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Solar was really on the cusp of being able to completely take off,” said Zoe Hanes, chief executive of Charlotte, North Carolina solar developer Pine Gate Renewables.
…
South Bend, Indiana-based developer Inovateus Solar LLC, for example, had decided three years ago to focus on emerging Midwest solar markets such as Indiana and Michigan. But the tariff sparked a shift to Massachusetts, where state renewable energy incentives make it more profitable, chairman T.J. Kanczuzewski said.
…
President Trump’s solar tariffs may have broken state efforts to circumvent Federal climate and energy policies. The solar tariffs ensure that states have to live with the consequences of their mistreatment of domestic manufacturers.
Thanks to President Trump’s import tariffs, a substantial percentage of those generous solar incentives provided by Massachusetts and other climate advocate states are now flowing straight into Federal revenues, in the form of tariff payments. States with generous solar incentives are now helping to fund the Trump administration.
Their only escape from handing over large sums of money to the Federal government is to either cut their solar incentives, or to help domestic solar manufacturers to cut costs – to slash the green tape which makes US manufacturing uncompetitive with China, and to ensure US manufacturers have access to cheap electricity.
Best thing I’ve read all day. We need to end ALL government subsidies and tax breaks for ridiculous “renewable” energy, especially for Tesla. The company would be nonexistent were it not for government assistance.
A step in the right direction.
Why not just get rid of subsidies for wind and solar projects?
lol. “I could have been a contender.”
It is well known that China has ‘insulated’ it’s domestic solar panel ‘companies’ from competition to spur their takeover of a desired industry (paid for by the outrageous trade deficit and profligate US borrowing to fund our ridiculous spending habits). It’s funny, in a very sad way, that, ultimately, WE are providing the Chinese with the funds to destroy American industry, just like we funded the destruction of the textile industry in the US.
The Chinese ‘politburo’ must have a ‘laughing period’ before they settle down to deciding which industry they will dominate next.
Wonder if these tariffs are effecting the wallets of the likes of Soros, Steyer, Gore, etc? If yes, he he he and GREAT!
Trump : The gift that just keeps on giving.
China’s Surprising Move To Cut Solar Subsidies
Chinese solar companies sold off sharply on Monday following an announcement by the Chinese government that it would take measures that may curb the astronomical growth of its solar industry. The South China Morning Post reported:
“A joint statement put out on Friday by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance and National Energy Administration said the allocation of quotas for new projects had been halted until further notice, and tariffs on electricity generated from clean energy will be lowered by 0.05 yuan per kilowatt hour, a cut of 6.7 to 9 per cent depending on the region, effective June 1.”
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Solar-Energy/Chinas-Surprising-Move-To-Cut-Solar-Subsidies.html
So, some good has come forth from the Trump madness.
Interesting that the coal industry with fewer people still produces more energy than the solar industry. How can it ever be economically competitive when the labor costs are so much higher?
I don’t have a problem with income taxes on corporations. If a corporation is paying income tax it is making a profit.
What I do have a problem with is taxes, fees, and regulations that can’t be avoided.
Why regulations, you ask? Regulations cost in many ways. If you can afford a team of lawyers and technical experts and lobbyists you can game the system to your advantage. If you’re a small business, you get nailed by federal, state, and municipal regulations that may conflict.
New businesses get stifled before they can become profitable.
Meanwhile, for big business:
American manufacturers have trouble competing with China. Small American manufacturers have a lot of trouble competing with China. It’s an own goal.
Poor babies,.. can’t make a go of it even with 30% Federal subsidies and net-metering for residential.
Would they survive without subsidies and fake metering? I think not.
Trump is a bull in a China shop that needs clearing out. All the political BS about how fair current tariffs are don’t pass the sniff test. Don’t tell me how fair trade is when there’s massive trade imbalances. Protecting a nation’s agriculture/industry shouldn’t produce surpluses on either side. Please explain how I’m wrong.
That’s one squarely in the eye of the teat-sucking ruinable energy scammers. }:o) Keep it up!
Anything that discourages the replacement of cheap, reliable energy with inefficient, unreliable energy is a good thing!
THE GREEN INDUSTRY DISASTER
As of 2016, clean energy jobs in the U.S.A. for wind,solar, and bioenergy were ~ 600,000,
while the fossil fuel industry had ~ 1,075,000 which included 52,000 coal miners. It is NEVER a good thing for an industry to employ more workers than less if the output does not increase as the same % increase of employment.
The fossil fuel industry provided 85% of the power while wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal provided 3.6%.
Looking at just the electricity generation in 2017; total electricity delivered capacity was 468GW with wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal generating about 44 GW of delivered capacity to the electric grid or 9.4 %. Hydro delivered 35 GW or 7.4 % and nuclear delivered 93 GW or 20 % while fossil fuels delivered 296 GW or 63%.
Since 2004, $3 trillion has been spent on renewables with present spending of $300 billion a year.
Countries like Germany and Denmark have even spent much more per capita with much higher % of renewables but their consumers now have the highest electricity prices in the world topping over $0.30 per kw/hr as the basic variable cost before any fixed and extra costs are added.
Since hydro is basically tapped out in the U.S.A., and biomass and geothermal are extremely small players; that leaves wind, solar,fossil fuels and nuclear as the electricity generators of the future. We will always need either fossil fuels or nuclear as backups for solar and wind because they are intermittent. The greens do not like either backup but they have no choice because our society will never accept blackouts or even brownouts.
I watch with interest from here in the U.K. as the wind of Trump realism sweeps through the USA.
Sadly we Brits are, I believe, the only country saddled with a statutory “Climate Change Act” which completely addles the minds of our politicians. However, there are some indications of sanity such as tentative moves to develope fracking; but I do not hold my breath.
Meanwhile the scam of the Satanic CO2 Meme is coming under increasing scrutiny and I welcome that.
It’s about time Renewable energy started to help support Federal programs such as Medicare and help reduce the budget deficit.
Obviously, the support of solar power plants will soon be abolished, as cheap solutions have emerged recently, which it can do unnecessary the various subsidies anyway. Of course, like any change, this can also cause great problems for many.
“with about 40 percent of those people in installation and 20 percent in manufacturing,”
& the other 40% sit back & take the rake-off… paid for by us.
When an article highlights as a plus that the solar industry employs 3 times the number of people to produce a fraction of the generating energy capacity that coal does actually gives a greater understanding of why solar cannot compete. To me supporting the renewable industry because it creates jobs is like employing people to dig holes then employ more people to fill them in and about as useless. Government uses the renewables industry as a substitute for unemployment welfare. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if they didn’t stuff up the economy at the same time.
Rooftop solar is not competitive with grid solar or anything else. When you see solar jobs being touted, it’s your clue that the rooftop solar subsidy industry (lobby) is at it again. The truly competitive solar mfg player(s) are not about job tallies but cost. They are moving further into robot production lines and potentially robot panel loaders at utility scale install sites.
As we all know, the problem with solar and wind power is that it is intermittent, requiring the equivalent in stand-by non-intermittent power. Or, twice the capacity. Government stupidity is not unique to this century.
A long period of prosperity in England peaked in the early 1600s. The government wanting to relieve the hardship came up with a “make work” plan. At the time, England sold wool to Holland for finishing. Holland was the financial and commercial center of the world. The government was persuaded to duplicate those facilities. Providing twice the capacity. Veteran merchants in London derided the scheme as a sepulcher. “Attractive without, dead bones within.”
Because the scheme was imposed by mindless authoritarians, it was called “Tyrannical Duncery”.
The merchants were right. Even then contractions follow booms and it was seen as a disaster.
A lot of “Duncery” going around these days. Having to double the amount of power generation to glorify virtue signaling.
Bob Hoye
‘The U.S. solar industry employs more than 250,000 people – about three times more than the coal industry’
So coal is way more efficient than solar.
BTW, how many people are employed in backing up solar? Which will be required until they solve the mystery of why solar doesn’t work at night.
How can someone write for a major news service and be so clueless about economics?
Nichola proudly states:
Three times the labor to produce what fraction of our energy?
“…The U.S. solar industry employs more than 250,000 people – about three times more than the coal industry – with about 40 percent of those people in installation and 20 percent in manufacturing, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Solar was really on the cusp of being able to completely take off,” said Zoe Hanes, chief executive of Charlotte, North Carolina solar developer Pine Gate Renewables…”
Perhaps your employment numbers are true Zoe Hanes, but I have some news for you. The U.S. EIA also says that the U.S. solar industry produced only 1.3% of our electricity as of the end of last year whereas the coal industry generated 30.1%:
https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3.
I’ve been waiting for the solar industry to…ahem…”take off” for some time now and demonstrate that it is capable of generating amounts of electricity comparable to our fossil fuel plants. I believe the word I’m thinking of here is “productivity.”
Do yourself a favor Hanes, and check out the energy density of solar (and wind too for that matter) and compare it to the density of fossil fuels and nuclear. You might find the energy density issue is at the root of what ails the solar industry (among other things) which makes its productivity per employee somewhat of a joke.
The tariffs on Chinese solar panels are the least of the solar industry’s problems.