What Trump’s tariff on solar panels means for Pennsylvania

• Amy Sisk
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  Amy Sisk reports for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR member station. She comes to Pennsylvania from another energy-rich state, North Dakota, where she told stories from coal mines, wind farms and the Bakken oil patch for Inside Energy and Prairie Public Broadcasting. Amy's stories often air on NPR, including those from the eight months she spent following the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. A reporting trip to the Bakken during its boom years sparked her interest in energy. Ever since, she's covered the industry -- from the way it is regulated to its influence on policy to its impact on people and the environment.

Richard Tumushime, an electrician with Pittsburgh-based Energy Independent Solutions, works with a crew to put the finishing touches on wiring a solar panel system at the new Forest Hills Municipal Building.

A solar panel that arrives in the United States from overseas now comes with a higher price tag.

President Donald Trump last week imposed a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels. The move comes at the request of U.S. solar manufacturers, who seek a level playing field amid competition from places like China, where the government subsidizes solar manufacturing.

Not all are thrilled with the move. Many companies that install solar panel systems are worried the tariff will lead to increased costs and scare away potential customers, resulting in less demand and job losses.

Click here to read more about how Pennsylvania’s solar industry will be affected by the tariff, and listen to this piece:

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About StateImpact Pennsylvania

StateImpact Pennsylvania is a collaboration among WITF, WHYY, WESA, and The Allegheny Front. Reporters Marie Cusick, Reid Frazier, Susan Phillips, and Amy Sisk cover the commonwealth’s energy economy. Read their reports on this site, and hear them on public radio stations across Pennsylvania.

This collaborative project is funded, in part, through grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Heinz Endowments, Wyncote Foundation, and William Penn Foundation.

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