U.S. Solar and Storage Industry Statement on New Sec. 232 Tariffs on Solar

The Trump administration has put new tariffs on polysilicon and the products made from it, including ingots, wafers, solar cells, and modules. It's also setting minimum import prices on these materials. Polysilicon is the raw material used to make solar panels, so this move touches nearly every solar panel sold in the country.

The solar industry's main trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, says the change will raise costs for American manufacturers and, in turn, for the families and businesses buying solar power. The group's CEO, Tim Pawlenty, said the tariffs and price floors create new challenges even as the U.S. has been building up its domestic solar manufacturing. He noted the same announcement includes some incentives for domestic manufacturers, which he hopes will help offset the higher costs.

Before this decision, SEIA and two other industry groups, the American Council on Renewable Energy and the American Clean Power Association, had filed formal comments urging different approaches to growing polysilicon manufacturing in the U.S.

For homeowners, the practical takeaway is that this could push up prices for solar panel systems, since the tariffs apply to the core materials that go into panels. No specific price increase or timeline for when costs might show up on quotes was given, so anyone considering solar might want to watch for how installers price new systems in the coming months rather than assume a fixed increase.