AsiaElec: US probe into SE Asian solar panel imports could hold back US solar boom

The US government’s investigation into whether Southeast Asian solar panel manufacturers are circumventing tariffs could reduce domestic US solar installations by 46% in 2022 and 2023, threatening both job numbers and the competitiveness of the US solar industry.

Research from the US trade body the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) warned that the probe could result in a drop of 24 GW of planned solar capacity over the next two years, which is more solar than the industry installed in all of 2021.

This lost solar deployment will cause the US to emit an additional 364mn tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2035, the SEIA warned. At stake are the US government’s clean energy goals.

“If tariffs are imposed, in the blink of an eye we’re going to lose 100,000 American solar workers and any hope of reaching the President’s clean energy goals,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “This would be a monumental loss for our nation, which has the potential to lead our clean energy future, with the right policies. Instead, the Commerce Department is on track to wipe out nearly half of all solar jobs and force a surrender on the President’s climate goals.”