THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - FEBRUARY 2018
4 Americas News
US solar import tariffs
threaten market growth
n Thirty per cent tariff could cost 23 000 US jobs n Duty barrier will shock Asian suppliers in near term
Junior Isles
Tariffs on imports on solar components
into the US could slow the
growth of the solar market, according
to industry experts.
In a move to protect domestic manufacturers,
the administration of US
President Donald Trump has imposed
a tariff on solar cells and panels, starting
at 30 per cent and slowly decreasing
to 15 per cent over a four-year
period.
The solar industry predicts the import
tax will lead to 23 000 job losses
in the country. Abigail Ross Hopper,
President and CEO of the Solar Energy
Industries Association, said the
move “will create a crisis” in a part of
the economy that has been thriving,
which will ultimately cost tens of
thousands of Americans jobs.
Solar developers were also dismayed
at the decision. Tony Clifford,
Chief Development officer at Standard
Solar said: “It boggles my mind
that this President – any President,
really – would voluntarily choose to
damage one of the fastest-growing
segments of our economy.”
The move has also drawn international
criticism. Trina Solar Limited,
a global leader in photovoltaic (PV)
modules, solutions, and services, said
in a statement: “It is an abuse of trade
remedies measures. The measures not
only give rise to concerns from various
trade partners but are opposed by
many US local governments and
downstream businesses. The US action
not only damages healthy and
balanced development of the US PV
industry, but also deteriorates the
global trade of PV products.”
China’s Head of Trade Remedy,
Wang Hejun, expressed “strong dissatisfaction”
with the move. He said
that “together with other World Trade
Organisation (WTO) members, China
will resolutely defend its legitimate
interests”.
South Korea’s Trade Minister Kim
Hyun-chong also said his government
would take the matter to the WTO,
adding: “The government will actively
respond to the spread of protectionist
measures to defend national
interests.”
Commenting on the impact on Asia,
Dr Frank Yu, Asia-Pacific power and
renewables principal consultant,
Wood Mackenzie, said: “The duty
barrier will shock Asian suppliers in
the near term and they will likely
switch gears to penetrate more into
the growing Asian markets to offset
the impact. Years ago to avoid the
anti-dumping duty, Mainland China
and Taiwan solar panel manufacturers
set up plants in other Asian countries
such as Malaysia and Vietnam. These
countries have been exporting panels
to the US and direct export from
China has been dropping.
“With Trump’s duty barrier in place,
China won’t get hit as much, as its
domestic market is still growing
strong.
“In addition, emerging markets such
as India are likely to draw more Southeast
Asian production to feed its solar
capacity growth. With oversupply
situation developing in the APAC
region, Southeast Asian countries
could also ramp up their new build
projects and thus reduce reliance on
the export market.”
There was mixed reaction in the
stock market, with some companies
saying the tariff was not as steep as
they had feared. Following the announcement,
shares in SunPower, a
US solar developer and manufacturer
that said it expected to be hit by the
tariffs, were down 6 per cent.
Tom Werner, chief executive of Sun-
Power, said he expected the company
to “suffer collateral damage in a case
that clearly was targeted at Chinese
manufacturers”. He added: “This
remedy will impact SunPower more
than any other solar cell manufacturer.”
Shares in Sunrun, the largest independent
residential solar company in
the US, were up 6.1 per cent. Shares
in First Solar, another US integrated
group that uses a technology not covered
by the tariffs, were down by 0.6
cent.
Siân Crampsie
The US state of New York has outlined
plans to develop offshore wind energy,
battery energy storage projects and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In his annual ‘State of the State’ address,
NY governor Andrew M. Cuomo
said that his government would issue
solicitations in 2018 and 2019 to procure
at least 800 MW of offshore wind
energy.
The move is part of a broader plan to
develop 2400 MW of offshore wind in
New York, and position the state as the
leading offshore wind energy market
in the USA.
Cuomo also launched an initiative
to deploy 1500 MW of energy storage
by 2025 and employ 30 000 New
Yorkers to establish the state as a home
for this rapidly expanding clean tech
industry.
“New Yorkers know too well the
devastation caused by climate change,
and in order to slow the effects of extreme
weather and build our communities
to be stronger and more resilient,
we must make significant investments
in renewable energy,” Governor Cuomo
said. “With this proposal, New
York is taking bold action to fight climate
change and protect our environment,
while supporting and growing
21st century jobs in these cutting-edge
renewable industries.”
The plans add detail to previously
announced initiatives, including New
York’s Reforming the Energy Vision
policy, and will help to make the state
one of the most progressive in the USA
in terms of clean energy development.
Cuomo has also called for more aggressive
caps under the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a
regional emissions trading scheme,
and wants the scheme to now be applied
to small peaking plants.
Currently the RGGI only applies to
power plants with a capacity of
25 MW or more. Cuomo says, however,
that this excludes many smaller,
but highly polluting peaker units, often
located close to population centres.
Under his offshore wind energy plan,
Cuomo said the New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA) will invest $15
million (€12.5 million) in clean energy
workforce development and infrastructure
advancement to train workers
for jobs in the offshore wind industry.
This includes offshore wind
construction, installation, operation,
maintenance, design and associated
infrastructure.
Other initiatives announced in January
include proposing a commitment
of at least $200 million from NY Green
Bank for storage-related investments
to help drive down costs and to strategically
deploy energy storage to where
the grid needs it most, and a community
solar initiative for low-income
households.
Cuomo has also announced more
funding for energy efficiency initiatives
in NY state, which has set a target
of sourcing 50 per cent of its electricity
from renewables by 2030.
Canadian electric utility Emera is preparing
to start commercial operations
of the Maritime Link, a 500 MW electricity
link that includes North America’s
longest submarine cable.
The firm said in December 2017 that
it had achieved the first energy exchange
across the HVDC connector
that links Newfoundland and Nova
Scotia via a 170 km-long subsea cable
across the Cabot Strait. Emera says the
link would be ready for customers in
early 2018.
Maritime Link is part of a wider regional
energy development plan and
will enable Nova Scotia to import hydropower
from Labrador, as well as
connect the island of Newfoundland
to the North American grid for the first
time. It will link Nova Scotia with the
Muskrat Falls generating station in
Labrador, which is being developed by
Nalcor Energy as part of the Lower
Churchill Project.
Nexans delivered the cables for the
project, while ABB provided the
HVDC converter stations as well as
AC substations.
The project is a key part of Canada’s
target of achieving a 50 per cent reduction
in greenhouse emissions by 2030,
and has been backed by a federal loan
guarantee.
In late January, the government of
Canada said it plans to invest C$700
million ($563 million) over the next
five years to grow its clean technology
industry. The investment, to be made
via Business Development Bank of
Canada (BDC), will see BDC take on
more risk to help high-potential clean
tech firms expand by providing them
with the capital they need to hire new
staff, develop products, support sales,
and scale up and compete globally.
The C$700 million is part of the
Canadian government’s largest-ever
public investment of C$2.3 billion in
clean technologies set aside in the
2017 budget.
The government also launched a call
for expressions of interest for a C$200
million programme for emerging renewable
tehnologies.
Brazil is expected to continue its
dominance in Latin America’s wind
energy market, according to MAKE
Consulting.
The firm says that Latin America’s
wind energy market has expanded to
almost 20 GW of installed capacity,
with Mexico and Brazil together accounting
for 80 per cent of this.
MAKE says that Brazil will dominate
the market in 2018, when it expects a
total of 4 GW of capacity to be added
across Latin America.
Brazil’s installed wind capacity
stands at around 12 GW, spread across
some 470 wind farms. Last month the
country’s energy agency, Empresa de
Pesquisa Energetica (EPE), said that
around 931 wind farms totalling 26.1
GW of capacity had pre-qualified for
the country’s next renewable energy
auction, scheduled for April.
The auction will award 20-year
power purchase agreements to wind
energy projects from 2022.
It has also attracted 620 solar projects
with a total capacity of 20 GW,
EPE said.
n Construction of a major new solar
farm in Mexico will start early this year
after developer Fotowatio Renewable
Ventures reached financial close on the
project. The 342 MW Potosí solar farm
will play a key role in Mexico’s plans
to boost renewable energy capacity
and reduce carbon emissions.
Cuomo throws
weight behind
offshore wind
Maritime Link
supports Canada’s
clean energy efforts
Brazil dominates Latin
America wind energy market
The state of New York aims to become
a leader in America’s growing market for
offshore wind and energy storage.