Trump imposes stiff solar tariffs
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On Monday, the President’s Donald Trump’s Administration implemented to a 30 percent tariff on imported crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules and cells.
The implementation of the tariff appears to be made as a result of the recommendation made by the The International Trade Commission on the matter.
The rationale for the white house is to protect the domestic manufacturing industry of the solar cells.
Last year Suniva, a Georgia-based manufacturer, and SolarWorld advised the federal government implement the tariffs blaming lowpriced imports, mostly from Chinese companies for their financial troubles.
Though the tariffs are stiff initially, they are due to decrease by 5 percent each year until decreasing to 15 percent.
It was also announced that the first 2.5 gigawatts of imported solar cells would be exempted from the tariffs.
As a result of the decision, the solar energy sector warned that the decision could have a big detrimental impact on the industry.
SEIA President Abigail Hopper criticized the determination in a statement:
“While tariffs, in this case, will not create adequate cell or module manufacturing to meet U.S. demand, or keep foreign-owned Suniva and SolarWorld afloat, they will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost tens of thousands of hard-working, blue-collar Americans their jobs.”
SEIA estimates up to 23,000 jobs could be lost this year following the implementation of the tariff.
More electric cars
A couple of important news regarding electric vehicles came out of the 2018 Detroit Auto Show this past weekend.
Possibly the biggest of the announcements came from Ford which announced their plans to increase its investment on electrification of its models with $11 billion by 2022.
USA Today reported that Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and other officials talked about the possibility of introducing a Ford F-150 hybrid mode and a fully electric truck Mach 1 for 2020.
Ford officials further announce that the company is working to develop 16 full electric models and 24 hybrids for 2022, for a total of 40 electrified vehicles.
The company is focusing on developing electric versions of their most popular vehicles to speed up customer acceptance.
Also, Infiniti announced that with the exception of SUV’s, all of its fleet will be made of full electric or hybrid vehicles by 2021.
Company representatives said they expect half of its revenue to come from electric vehicles by 2025.
Nuclear plant to close
Diablo Canyon, the last remaining nuclear plant in California, is now slated to close in 2025 after a decision made by state regulators earlier this month.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, due to state law which forbids the building of any nuclear plan until the federal government comes up with a long-term solution to dispose of their waste safely, a requirement which to date has not been fulfilled.
The plant operator PG&E reached an agreement with environmental groups to close the plant after its federal licenses expire in 2024 and 2025 after the changes in the state’s electricity market and the rapid development and increasing affordability of renewable energy sources.
Currently, the plant produces nine percent of the state’s power demand, but perhaps the biggest effect of its closure is the loss of jobs that San Luis Obispo as the plant is the fourth largest local employers with 1,500 employees at the plant.