believe the decline will be particularly noticeable after 2018, as installers use up stockpiled inventory and demand tapers off as costs go up to potential customers. Changes in the solar sector have not only to do with tariffs, but also with shifting consumer incentive programmes in some of the mature markets in the US. Leading the country in solar installations, states such as Massachusetts, California and Nevada have provided strong financial incentives to residential and commercial customers to go solar. But for the first time in recent years, the industry lost about 10,000 jobs in 2017, primarily because incentives in Massachusetts and California have become less profitable and solar installations began to slow down. Despite these job losses, the growth trend in 29 states and the District of Columbia appears to be strong, particularly in New York, New Jersey, Utah, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Minnesota and Arizona. This indicates that the solar industry is not declining in absolute terms. If history is any guide, President Barack
‘INDEED, THERE ARE REASONS FOR OPTIMISM THAT THE AMERICAN SOL AR INDUSTRY WILL NOT ONLY SURVIVE, BUT WILL THRIVE AGAIN’
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May 2018