SEM co-founder Bob Kingery and Extend Energy CEO Travis Simpson penned this op-ed for the Charlotte Observer.
From Bob Kingery, co-founder and CEO of Southern Energy Management in Morrisville, and Travis Simpson, CEO of Extend Energy in Greensboro:
Responding to a petition by a German-owned company with a facility in Oregon, the U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday made a preliminary decision setting modest tariffs on some solar cells and modules imported from China.
While the news could have been worse, these tariffs will raise prices in North Carolina and will slow our fast-growing solar industry and discourage additional job creation.
In 2010, the research and policy organization Environment North Carolina predicted that our state’s solar industry could grow to at least 28,000 jobs by 2030. North Carolina currently has an estimated 2,391 solar industry jobs, ranking 14th among the states in the ratio of jobs to population.
But the proposed tariff takes aim at one of the American solar industry’s greatest advantages: continually falling prices. Last year alone, the price of solar energy fell by roughly 30 percent.
Meanwhile, the industry added some 7,000 jobs, bringing its total workforce to more than 100,000, for an annual employment growth rate of 6.8 percent, compared to an anemic 0.7 percent throughout the economy.
While the tariff would supposedly protect jobs producing solar panels, the great majority of American solar industry jobs are not in manufacturing but rather in engineering, design, installation, maintenance, sales, project development and other professional services. In fact, 52 percent of solar industry jobs are in installation and maintenance — high-paying, blue-collar jobs.
By raising prices, the proposed tariff would compel many companies to reexamine their growth plans. While the solar industry expects to hire 24,000 new employees this year and $11 to $12 billion of projects are planned, the tariff would limit expansion.
Here in North Carolina, companies like ours show why the federal government shouldn’t artificially raise prices and take action that could start a trade war.
A licensed general contractor, Extend Energy has delivered solar solutions for fire stations, restaurants, beauty schools and the Piedmont Triad International Airport. In addition to providing opportunities for electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other craft workers, Extend Energy buys lots of concrete, pipe and wire — materials that are made here in the U.S.
Designing, installing and commissioning solar energy systems, Southern Energy Management has more than 100 fulltime employees, including licensed electricians and plumbers, nationally certified building scientists and solar technicians, engineers and home energy raters.
During 2011 alone, Southern Energy Management installed more than seven megawatts of solar power, including residential, commercial, utility and military solar energy systems across the eastern U.S.
Special tariffs and an unnecessary trade war will slow down this economic and environmental progress. It’s time to get back on track towards creating at least 28,000 solar jobs in North Carolina.
