Two companies petitioned for Trump's solar tariffs--now they're both out of business

[jpak]

https://qz.com/1644846/two-companies-that-petitioned-for-trumps-solar-tariffs-are-out-of-business/

Two companies begged the US government to raise tariffs on imported solar panels in 2017. “Stop the bleeding,” implored panel maker Suniva in its petition (pdf) to the US International Trade Commission (ITC), joined by a second manufacturer, SolarWorld. Domestic solar panel manufacturers, they argued, needed import taxes to “grow and thrive.” These tariffs, Suniva insisted, would generate at least 114,800 new jobs in the US.

They got their wish. The US trade commission ruled in 2017 that domestic solar manufacturers had been harmed by cheap imports. The next year, the Trump Administration slapped a 30% tax on imported solar cells and panels (also known as modules).

Today, both firms out of business. SolarWorld Americas, actually a US subsidiary of a German company, was bought out of bankruptcy by SunPower in October. Chinese-owned Suniva filed for bankruptcy this month. The company told a judge it plans to exit the solar panel business as soon as it offloads its inventory of panels stockpiled in warehouses.

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Many of Nicolaou’s concerns have come to pass. Solar installations stalled after peaking at more than 14 gigawatts (GW) of power added in 2016, according to energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimates that nearly $8 billion in new solar investments capable of generating 7 GW were lost because of the tariffs, along with the loss of 9,000 jobs due to layoffs or hiring freezes, far less than the expected increase in manufacturing jobs. Only about 2,000 (pdf) of the 260,000 solar jobs in the US are in cell and module manufacturing; the rest involve supply chain equipment, installation, and other services.

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[rownesheck]

1. Good.

Let all these idiots follow the orange vomitron to hell.

[Iliyah]

2. A lot of jobs were lost . . . .

[Dirty Socialist]

3. Lemmings

Followed Don the Con right over the cliff.

[wasupaloopa]

4. Solar companies said the panels and installation was free but I had to

sign up to pay them for 20yrs and when there is not enough power I would have to buy from the local utility. The utility wants a surcharge from solar users to pay for the grid

I did not see the benefit