The trade barriers of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, are raising US solar energy prices and slowing development, according to Kevin Smith, executive director of Lightsource BP for the Americas.
The San Francisco-based solar developer is paying up to an additional 60% for the solar panels it uses in the US, compared to project costs in other parts of the world, Smith said. The prices at which you can supply electricity to public services "could be lower without those tariff prices," he said Friday in a telephone interview.
And it's not just the tariffs imposed on solar panels in 2018, he said. Tariffs on steel and investors are also increasing installation costs. All this has become a drag on the American solar industry, according to Smith. Lightsource It is partly owned by BP Plc.
“There will be between 10,000 and 12,000 megawatts of solar energy installed in the US. in 2019, ”he said. "It could have been more without those tariffs."
Smith noted that even with tariffs, solar energy remains an attractive and low-cost option for public services and corporate clients who sign agreements to buy it. "Solar energy is still seen in many markets as the cheapest source of energy supply and one wins projects on this basis," he said.
Source link
https://gestion.pe/mundo/eeuu/aranceles-de-trump-arruinan-la-industria-solar-estadounidense-noticia/
