Solar installations have declined in early 2022 to an unprecedented level since the onset of the coronavirus epidemic, with rising prices, logistical constraints and federal scrutiny of solar imports rocking industries, according to a new report.
The solar industry has installed 24 percent less power in the first quarter of this year than in the first quarter of 2021, according to an analysis released yesterday by the Association of Solar Energy Industries (SEIA). The change is slowing the country’s transition to clean energy, although the move by the Biden administration this week has already provided some relief, said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA.
“President Biden has made it clear that industrial attraction is undermining the resilience of the network. “Ross Hopper said in a statement.
On Monday, President Joe Biden issued a two-year waiver on possible new tariffs to be issued by the Commerce Department following an investigation into parts of the sun imported from four Asian countries. He also authorized the Energy Department to help boost domestic production of solar panels and other clean energy technologies through combat capabilities (Energywire, June 7).
However, it is still expected to have “very little” solar installation this year as a whole as last year, said Michelle Davis, managing analyst at Wood Mackenzie. Recent White House announcements will increase the number of gigawatts of solar installed this year compared to previous forecasts, she added.
“Overall, it’s a more optimistic picture than it was even a few days ago,” Davis said in an interview.
Large-scale solar energy projects took the biggest toll in the first quarter of 2022, with the industry installed at its lowest level since 2019, analysts said. In addition, the number of contracts signed for new solar energy projects was the lowest since 2017.
The solar energy estimate is unimaginably affected by the Commerce Department’s audit because solar panels make up a larger portion of the total cost of these projects compared to solar panels installed in homes or businesses, Davis said. About 80 percent of the country’s solar energy supplies come from the four countries that are the subject of a Commerce Department survey, according to SEIA.
Although solar energy has suffered, the highest levels of solar energy have been installed over the past quarter as consumer demand has increased in most states, particularly California, Florida and Texas, the report said. Rising electricity prices have triggered high demand for solar energy, “which weighs heavily on inflation and system costs,” the analysis found.
California lawmakers’ decision to delay net energy measurement changes – a system that calculates high-ceilinged consumers for energy exports to the network – also shed light on the housing forecast, the report said.
“These rising reviews in California are beyond the scope of a nationwide review because of anti-circumcision screening,” the analyst said.
The report comes as high fuel prices raise hopes for renewable energy as a whole, according to a separate forecast released yesterday by the US Energy Information Administration. The EIA predicts that wind and solar generation will contribute to more than 11 percent of the country’s electricity generation this summer, and solar energy will account for almost half of all the new generation capacity built this year.
Coming lawsuits?
In a call to solar companies and journalists yesterday, the leaders of the solar industry said that the investigation of the business sector had hit the solar panels, although the president did this week. To see also : Eight new solar energy sites begin operating in Genesee and Saginaw Counties.
All told, there are currently 26 gigawatts of solar energy projects in the building, of which more than 15 GW was originally expected to come online this year, according to analysts from Wood Mackenzie and SEIA.
“The 15 GW we lost between last year and this year was enough to power 3 million homes. It is a significant amount of solar power,” Dan Whitten, SEIA’s vice president of social affairs, said during the call.
Application submitted earlier this year by the Department of Commerce, California Auxin Solar Inc. calls for new solar tariffs to stop Chinese manufacturers accused of circumventing existing trade rules. On Monday, Auxin’s general manager, Mamun Rashid, called Biden’s latest actions “reasonable and illegal,” although neither Rashid nor the company directly said they planned to sue.
SEIA has vowed to defend Biden’s decision to issue a two-year waiver on new solar tariffs for possible legal challenges. Officials also said they would continue to fight against the request initiated by the Commerce Department investigation.
“I want to assure you that SEIA will defend yesterday’s decision, because we think what the president has done is completely within his control,” said John Smirnow, the club’s general adviser and market strategy vice president. .
Smirnow pledged to press Congress to make changes to how businesses deal with future tariff requests with possible climate policy.
“Looking at the long-term, we need to make changes to U.S. trade law to prevent this in the future. We need a more fair system of trade laws,” Smirnow said.
