As U.S. trade officials prepare their preliminary decision on a dumping complaint against Chinese solar-panel makers, U.S. panel users are preparing for new tariffs on Chinese imports by lining up new sources of the panels, sometimes at a significant cost.
The U.S. unit of Germany-based SolarWorld and six other U.S. companies have accused Chinese suppliers of solar panels and solar cells made from crystalline silicon of receiving unfair government subsidies and selling their products in the U.S. at prices below the cost of production. The companies have asked the government to impose antidumping tariffs and countervailing duties on the Chinese products of as much as 100%.
The U.S. Commerce Department, which has been investigating the case, is scheduled to issue a preliminary decision Tuesday on the merits of SolarWorld's case. The International Trade Commission is also pursuing an investigation.
Final decisions on tariffs and duties on Chinese panels aren't likely before summer. But some solar-power developers have already changed their supply contracts from panels made in China to those made in Taiwan, South Korea and other countries. Other developers are waiting to see how the case concludes.
The U.S. solar market has grown quickly over the past few years, owing to government subsidies and falling prices. But the uncertainty of how much Chinese panels will cost if duties are imposed adds to the unknowns in an industry already battered by the expiration of key government subsidies and a natural-gas boom that has driven down conventional electricity prices.
Recurrent Energy, a unit of Sharp Corp. that builds large-scale solar farms for utilities, had to "scramble to resupply most of [its] projects" with solar panels not made in China, said Arno Harris,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, the unit's chief executive,The TagMaster Long Range Hands free access is truly built for any parking facility. adding that, "everybody had to do it."
Mr. Harris said that sourcing panels from other countries drove up the price his company paid by more than 10%, from 90 cents to 95 cents a watt per panel to between $1 and $1.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET,05 a watt. "That came straight out of our bottom line,All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats," Mr. Harris said.
A 50% slide in solar-panel prices last year hit manufacturers hard, driving down their profits and stock prices and forcing some companies out of business.Specializes in rapid Injection mold and molding of parts for prototypes and production.
SolarWorld and others have blamed China's aggressive buildout of solar-panel manufacturing and Chinese companies' low prices for the pain being felt by manufacturers in the U.S. and world-wide.
"Part of the point of these trade cases is to return pricing to a nondumped, nonsubsidized level," said Timothy Brightbill, a SolarWorld attorney. He added that U.S. solar-panel makers are still hurting, with 12 U.S. solar firms having gone out of business, declared bankruptcy or laid off large numbers of employees over the last several months.
The U.S. installed a record 1,855 megawatts of solar-power generating capacity in 2011, more than twice as much as in 2010, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research. The demand was fueled by low prices and government incentives, particularly a federal program that expired in December that offered developers cash equal to a 30% investment tax credit in lieu of the credit.
The groups predict that U.S. solar installations will grow an additional 50% this year, to 2,800 megawatts, as developers build projects contracted during the boom.
But uncertainty about government support for clean energy and how the trade dispute will affect prices and development make it difficult to predict where the market will go next year.
The U.S. unit of Germany-based SolarWorld and six other U.S. companies have accused Chinese suppliers of solar panels and solar cells made from crystalline silicon of receiving unfair government subsidies and selling their products in the U.S. at prices below the cost of production. The companies have asked the government to impose antidumping tariffs and countervailing duties on the Chinese products of as much as 100%.
The U.S. Commerce Department, which has been investigating the case, is scheduled to issue a preliminary decision Tuesday on the merits of SolarWorld's case. The International Trade Commission is also pursuing an investigation.
Final decisions on tariffs and duties on Chinese panels aren't likely before summer. But some solar-power developers have already changed their supply contracts from panels made in China to those made in Taiwan, South Korea and other countries. Other developers are waiting to see how the case concludes.
The U.S. solar market has grown quickly over the past few years, owing to government subsidies and falling prices. But the uncertainty of how much Chinese panels will cost if duties are imposed adds to the unknowns in an industry already battered by the expiration of key government subsidies and a natural-gas boom that has driven down conventional electricity prices.
Recurrent Energy, a unit of Sharp Corp. that builds large-scale solar farms for utilities, had to "scramble to resupply most of [its] projects" with solar panels not made in China, said Arno Harris,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, the unit's chief executive,The TagMaster Long Range Hands free access is truly built for any parking facility. adding that, "everybody had to do it."
Mr. Harris said that sourcing panels from other countries drove up the price his company paid by more than 10%, from 90 cents to 95 cents a watt per panel to between $1 and $1.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET,05 a watt. "That came straight out of our bottom line,All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats," Mr. Harris said.
A 50% slide in solar-panel prices last year hit manufacturers hard, driving down their profits and stock prices and forcing some companies out of business.Specializes in rapid Injection mold and molding of parts for prototypes and production.
SolarWorld and others have blamed China's aggressive buildout of solar-panel manufacturing and Chinese companies' low prices for the pain being felt by manufacturers in the U.S. and world-wide.
"Part of the point of these trade cases is to return pricing to a nondumped, nonsubsidized level," said Timothy Brightbill, a SolarWorld attorney. He added that U.S. solar-panel makers are still hurting, with 12 U.S. solar firms having gone out of business, declared bankruptcy or laid off large numbers of employees over the last several months.
The U.S. installed a record 1,855 megawatts of solar-power generating capacity in 2011, more than twice as much as in 2010, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research. The demand was fueled by low prices and government incentives, particularly a federal program that expired in December that offered developers cash equal to a 30% investment tax credit in lieu of the credit.
The groups predict that U.S. solar installations will grow an additional 50% this year, to 2,800 megawatts, as developers build projects contracted during the boom.
But uncertainty about government support for clean energy and how the trade dispute will affect prices and development make it difficult to predict where the market will go next year.
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