Texas solar developers assess the damage from Trump tariff

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Trump's import charge leaves Texas developers refiguring costs

WASHINGTON - A day after President Donald Trump announced a 30-percent tariff on foreign-made solar panels, solar developers across Texas and the rest of the country raced to figure out how big a financial hit they would take, and how the costs would affect the growth of an industry playing an ever increasing role in the nation's energy mix.

With developers rushing to build utility-scale farms in West Texas and rooftop solar systems gaining some traction in Austin and San Antonio, the tariff announcement comes at a critical moment for the Texas solar industry. Analysts said the impact of the tariffs would be felt most acutely in less established solar markets like Texas and the Southeast, which lack subsidies offered by states like California.

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The falling price of solar panels, driven by cheap imports from China and other countries, has fueled the rapid growth of solar power, which accounts for about 2 percent of the nation's electricity production capacity, up from virtually nothing at the beginning of the decade, according to the Energy Department.

Since 2010, solar power installations have increased an average rate of 72 percent a year - faster than any other generating technology.

The tariffs apply to solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, and their components, as well as solar panels and other products that contain solar cells. Industry officials and analysts conceded that the tariffs were not good news, but many were expecting it to be worse since the manufacturers that petitioned for the tariffs had sought a 50 percent price hike to slow a rush of imports from China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

More: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Texas-solar-developers-assess-the-damage-from-12519897.php?utm_campaign=chron&utm_source=article&utm_medium=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chron.com%2Fbusiness%2Fenergy%2Farticle%2FPerry-announces-3-million-prize-to-boost-solar-12521304.php



Workers install solar panels on a home in Katy. Rooftop systems are gaining traction in Texas.