On August 13th, 2019 the Trump Administration released a list of products that will now be subjected to 10% duties under the latest of several rounds of section 301 tariffs.

Starting September 1st you can expect tariffs to be placed on lithium-ion solar power batteries, which may put a dent in the progress of the home storage market.

Currently, solar energy batteries are mostly used by homeowners hoping to offset costs of time-of-use billing, which allows utilities to charge customers more to use energy during peak times, usually from 4-9 pm, when demand is high. But the tariff may render the solar power battery solution too costly for homeowners, hurting the storage industry overall.

The tariff is said to theoretically give U.S. Battery makers such as Tesla a competitive advantage against imports. However, the energy storage association pointed out that a previous round of section 301 tariffs have already been imposed on some imports of lithium, cobalt, and graphite, which make up the main materials used in lithium-ion batteries, meaning the domestic companies aren’t getting ahead.

Solar companies that will be directly affected by the tariff are LG chem, Panasonic, and BYD.

The same day the list was published twenty-two different states as well as seven local governments, sued the Trump Administration’s environmental protection agency.

The lawsuit, announced by New York attorney general Letitia James, alleges that the new ace plan, which replaced the clean power plan and its limits on fossil-fueled power plants, has prolonged United States reliance on fossil fuels and coal plants while hindering the progress of states adopting another cleaner, affordable and sources of renewable energy. 

The best system of emission reduction that is used in Trump’s environmental protection agency in the new power rule is only going to reduce emissions 0.7% by 2030, versus having no rule at all, according to the EPA’s data. The EPA also found that one or more of the three pollutants, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide, is going to increase in 18 states in 2030 versus having no rule at all.

Do you think that the tariff being placed on the lithium-ion batteries will help or hurt U.S. Battery makers? Comment below and let us know.

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