Trump's energy policies

[stpioc]

And now this..

Nearly every solar panel that will be put on a roof in the US just got a little more expensive. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed off on a new, temporary, 30% tax on imported solar panels. Trump heralded the tariff as a job-creating measure on Tuesday, saying "we’re going to make our own product again. It’s been a long time." But most solar companies in the US say that's just not true. 

As Bloomberg reports, about eight of every 10 solar panels in the US come from abroad, which means the new tariff will deal a serious blow to the solar industry in the states. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that the new tax will cost about 23,000 jobs in 2018, since fewer people are expected to buy panels at the higher price. (For a typical rooftop-style 250-watt solar panel, the price hike comes out to about $25 extra dollars a piece.) The job losses could include solar panel installers, manufacturers who make metal racks for holding the cells, and companies supplying add-on parts like inverters and machines that track the sun to improve cell performance. 

US solar-cell producers, who this tariff is designed to help, employed 1,300 workers at their peak in 2012, according to the Associated Press. But the larger industry related to solar installation and solar energy in the US employs roughly 200 times that number of people. Currently, 260,000 people work in the US solar industry, earning between $26 and $45 dollars an hour on average, according to a recent report from the Environmental Defense Fund.

According to a US Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis from October, solar photovoltaic installer was ranked the fastest-growing occupation, with an estimated growth rate of 105% between 2016 and 2026.

Trump solar tariff deals a huge blow to solar energy job growth - Business Insider

Ignorant on so many dimensions:

• There are few solar manufacturers left in the US. First Solar is the main one, and it has already sold out for the year, it doesn't need protection.
  
• There are 200x more jobs in solar installation compared to manufacturing (at its peak), these jobs will be affected. 
  
• Solar installation is one of the fastest growing job markets in the country, and paying generally good wages. 
  
• Another tilt in favor of fossil fuels, which is stuff from the past. Solar is already cheaper in many areas.