Solar Installation Growth Forecast Cut by 13 Percent Due to Tariffs

Market analysis firm GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association revised its forecast for solar installations between 2018 and 2022, lowering the estimate by 13 percent, as a result of President Trump's decision to impose tariffs on solar equipment.

While the impact of the tariffs is not expected to hit as hard in 2018, as many buyers bought solar equipment before the tariffs went into effect, GTM predicts U.S. growth in solar installations to plateau this year at 10.6 gigawatts. Additionally, GTM says that growth in utility-scale solar will idle between 2020 and 2022 because of the tariffs, as projects may become delayed or abandoned, CNBC reports. In regulated markets such as North Carolina and Florida, projects are expected to continue "as state power authorities guarantee a return on investment."

On the bright side, 2017 marked the second straight year of double-digit gigawatt growth in the solar industry. The sector added 10.6 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity, the most common type of solar power technology. "The solar industry delivered impressively last year despite a trade case and market adjustments," SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in a press release. "Especially encouraging is the increasing geographic diversity in states deploying solar, from the Southeast to the Midwest, that led to a double digit increase in total capacity."

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