Expect price increases in solar panels soon.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2018/01/17/trump-says-solar-tariff-decision-coming-soon-stakes-huge-for-industry.html (http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2018/01/17/trump-says-solar-tariff-decision-coming-soon-stakes-huge-for-industry.html)
For the relatively small quantity of panels that a typical bus/RV installation needs, an increase in panel price won't be that consequential, especially within the total cost of the project (mounts, cables, charge controllers, circuit breakers, etc etc). I wouldn't worry about it.
John
How about a 30% increase that was just imposed on imported panels?
30% increase on the cheap panels is not much about 10 to 15 cents a watt,the imported panels will still be a lot cheaper than a American made panel
We'll see. They will pass on more than the 30% wholesale costs, but mainly will effect large installations.
Doesn't matter much to me anyway as we get little sunshine, more cloudy weather where we live compared to those out west.
I just made a deal to buy 6 325W Sunvia panels for $.5/watt . Just in time it looks like.
I can't seem to find the exact tariff amount, it's either hidden by design, unknown at this time, it's the 30% we thought it would be.
They should be only raising prices on new inventory, either in transit to ports or being unloaded now, but till everything is in place to collect it, may be a delay. Course it might work like gas stations, rising instantly after the news.
Quote from: chessie4905 on January 23, 2018, 07:36:24 AM
They should be only raising prices on new inventory, either in transit to ports or being unloaded now, but till everything is in place to collect it, may be a delay. Course it might work like gas stations, rising instantly after the news.
They will raise it because when they buy new stock they will have the 30% like you say stations buy gasoline at a price as it goes up everyday they increase their price to help cover the cost of the next load
... and when the prices drop they have to sell their expensive inventory at the lower price.
The prices already went up. As soon as talk about tariffs priced moved up; yes, on existing stock. Much like oil prices. Last year you could pick up panels @ 50 cents per watt. Much harder these days but as stated the raw panel cost increase is hardly a few gallons of diesel.
Trump is headed to a WTO conference in Switzerland, bet you $1.00 this never sees an invoice. It's a bargaining chip.
Let's see what the deal maker does with it.
I think our US made panels are artificially high partly due to the subsidy that the Tax incentive has on solar.
If that goes away, the price may drop.
I don't think the tax subsidy cares where the panels came from. Just like the tax break on insulation in the past.
Solar is more about Labor and installation which cannot be shipped overseas. The panels are already here which the companies already make a subsidy from our government. So really no big deal.
Quote from: Dave5Cs on January 24, 2018, 10:02:05 AM
Solar is more about Labor and installation which cannot be shipped overseas. The panels are already here which the companies already make a subsidy from our government. So really no big deal.
Exactly.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/23/donald-trump-tariffs-solar-panels (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/23/donald-trump-tariffs-solar-panels)
John
In fact, domestic panel production has been severely damaged by cheap imports. Many plants here have gone bankrupt. The irony is some are foreign owned but the damage is mfg jobs here.
The bulk of jobs in solar is other than panel production. How much total installation is affected is yet to be determined. Some think higher panel prices will make the final cost to consumers higher and dampen sales. One has to remember panel prices have dropped so much over the past decade it's hardly clear how much sell through impact if panel cost is .50 or .65 per watt. Who knows, if things do slump off, some tax credits for domestic production or installation can offset that panel increase.
I thought a lot about this and feel that the tariff is worth the risk in addition to the overall trade policy of killing off cheap imports and level the global playing field. Overall, low impact thing to use to test and watch
I just had my panels delivered yesterday (6 325 watt Sunvia panels) and I chatted with the guy a bit about this very subject. He seemed to feel that most of the cost adjustments have already been put in place and i won't make a big deal overall, but will be better for the US manufacturers such as Sunvia.
We'll see how it plays out, if it ends up stifling job growth I suspect it will change real quick.
I paid 27 cents per watt for the 21 solar panels on the roof of my garage nine months ago. I was looking at getting four more panels for the house and another four more panels for my bus. At prices that will be close to $200 per panel I won't be getting any more.
If I could get panels at $100 each it might make sense for my bus. It makes zero sense at $200 per panel. That $1,200 can buy enough diesel to run my generator at least 700 hours.
Too late for Sunvia and SolarWorld, both bit it months ago.
Huh... Well there goes the neighborhood
So how do we know that because the new tariffs cover importing Solar Panels that manufactures are not going to buy all the parts over seas and put them together here as US made like they do food and other things or just relabel them?
Since the glass solar is the main item, they might not be able to avoid it.
I thought the silicon solar cells were the main thing in the panels. Where do they grow those?
I have read that nobody is growing solar cells in the USA anymore.
yep nope overseas bad ;D
Next it will be Harbor Freight tools.