Much ado about tariffs

Tariffs on Chinese solar cells, solar capacity surges, and what historic new electricity transmission rules mean for solar.

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Solar Dispatch
May 16, 2024

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In today’s Dispatch, we’re covering tariffs on Chinese solar cells, solar capacity surges in Q1, and what historic new electricity transmission rules mean for solar.

Today’s newsletter is 876 words for a reading time of 4.5 minutes. Let’s jump in.

THE ESSENTIALS

Biden doubles tariff on Chinese solar cells

  • President Biden announced an immediate increase in the tariff on solar cells and modules imported from China from 25% to 50%.

  • That may not be as big of a deal as it seems at first glance given that around 80% of solar panels imported last year were made in Southeast Asia — less than 1% came from China.

  • The White House also plans to exempt from the tariffs some products that are needed to build out domestic manufacturing capacity, including solar ingots and wafer-making equipment.

  • The bottom line: The higher tariff makes for eye-catching headlines but probably won’t move panel prices much in the U.S. market. Much more important will be what happens when a tariff moratorium on imports from four Southeast Asian countries expires in June.

Solar capacity jumps past 100GW

  • 4,557MW of new solar capacity came online in Q1 of 2024, an increase of 83% from the same period last year. That brings total U.S. solar capacity to over 100GW.

  • Solar was by far the largest contributor to new renewable energy capacity, making up 81% of renewable capacity added in the quarter. 94GW of solar capacity is currently in the pipeline.

  • The largest new addition in the quarter was Intersect Power’s 828 MWp/640 MWac Lumina project in Texas.

New electricity transmission rules aim to speed up renewable build-out

  • The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a major update to electric transmission policies, the first in over a decade, aimed at accelerating new interregional transmission lines to integrate more renewable energy sources like solar.

  • The rule requires transmission owners to have 20-year plans (revisited every five years) and to consider specific benefits like meeting clean energy goals.

  • Transmission is a major bottleneck for clean energy: Power generation projects with a capacity of 2,600 GW (twice as big as the current U.S. power plant fleet) are waiting to get connected to the electric grid.

A MESSAGE FROM SOLAR DISPATCH

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Do you have a colleague who goes above and beyond? Is your boss trailblazing ahead? Hey, maybe you deserve a little recognition (no harm in nominating yourself).

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WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING

➡️ Data center demand could surge solar sales. Solar manufacturers and utility-scale plant owners could see sales accelerate at a double-digit pace in the second half of the decade due to surging electricity demand from data centers powering AI systems. (More)

➡️ Solar to be fastest growing electricity source in next two years. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that utility-scale solar will account for 60% of new electricity generation added by 2025. (More)

➡️ Texas hits solar record. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) reported a new record for solar power in the state on Tuesday when it supplied 19,000 MW to the grid. (More)

➡️ California changes electricity bill formula. The update will add a fixed charge to power bills while lowering electricity rates by up to 7 cents per KWh. Some critics have argued that the changes punish people with rooftop solar, who consume less electricity. (More)

AROUND THE WORLD

🇦🇺 Australia pledges $15 billion for renewable energy. The spending mirrors much of what was included in the Inflation Reduction Act, albeit on a smaller scale. $670 million (AUD $1 billion) is set aside for a Solar Sunshot program to incentivize domestic solar panel manufacturing. Billions more are set aside for developing and commercializing clean energy technologies, including solar. (More)

🇪🇺 EU pushes faster approvals for solar projects. The European Commission has published new recommendations to speed up permitting for renewable energy projects. The rules will reportedly require permitting decisions for renewable energy projects in certain designated areas to take no more than one year. (More)

🇷🇸 Serbia to build a 1GW solar module plant. The partnership between the government and China’s Hunan Rich was announced following Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to the country. (More)

ONE BIG NUMBER
A MESSAGE FROM SOLAR DISPATCH

Nominate the Solar Star at your company

Solar Dispatch is looking for the best and brightest under-40 leaders in the solar industry to recognize in our inaugural Solar Stars list.

Do you have a colleague who goes above and beyond? Is your boss trailblazing ahead? Hey, maybe you deserve a little recognition (no harm in nominating yourself).

Whatever the case may be, we want to hear about it. Take 2 minutes to nominate them to be one of Solar Dispatch’s Solar Stars.

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