Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Solar Panel Tariff Threat: 8 Questions Homeowners Are Asking

Inside Climate News: The stage is nearly set for the Trump administration to slap tariffs on imported solar panels, after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled on Friday that two bankrupt solar manufacturers had been harmed by the flood of competition from overseas.

But the surge of low-cost panels from China and elsewhere, which the ITC said harmed manufacturers Suniva and SolarWorld, has been a boon to American consumers, making power from the Sun much more affordable.

Installers and financiers of solar power systems have warned that a Trump administration effort to protect the moribund U.S. manufacturers would undercut the market, forcing sharp price increases after years of price declines for photovoltaic energy. And that, they warned, would also put tens of thousands of U.S. jobs and billions of dollars of investment at risk.

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