Massive Solar Tariffs, Fast-Track Energy Permits, & Big Wins for EV Batteries

Seismic shifts are reshaping America's energy landscape as the Biden administration concludes a year-long investigation with massive tariffs on solar imports. The shocking 3,521% duty imposed on Cambodian products has sent shockwaves through the industry, with similar punitive measures hitting Vietnam (400%) and Thailand (375%). These tariffs target countries representing 75% of US solar panel imports worth nearly $13 billion annually—a critical supply chain disruption that will reverberate through the renewable sector.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's electricity market braces for price shocks as Governor Shapiro establishes new capacity auction parameters that could see costs skyrocket. With rising demand from data centers colliding with stagnant supply, capacity charges could balloon from 6-10% of wholesale electricity bills to a staggering 20% or more—a substantial burden for consumers already facing economic pressures.

The Trump administration has dramatically accelerated permitting for energy projects on federal lands, compressing environmental review timelines from years to mere weeks. This emergency process explicitly excludes renewable energy while fast-tracking fossil fuels, mining, and other traditional energy sources. The Department of Interior's vague assurances about environmental compliance leave many questions unanswered about long-term ecological impacts.

On the technology front, General Motors has quietly surpassed Tesla in US battery manufacturing capacity while simultaneously slashing production costs. Their $60/kWh cost reduction in 2023, with another $30/kWh projected, puts GM on track to hit the industry's holy grail—$100/kWh batteries. Equally impressive are developments from Stellantis and Factorial Energy, whose solid-state batteries demonstrate rapid charging capabilities essential for mainstream EV adoption.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Massive Solar Tariffs Imposed
• 0:56 PGM's New Capacity Pricing Scheme
• 2:25 Emergency Permitting for Energy Projects
• 3:35 GM's Battery Production Milestone
• 4:52 New England's Record Low Demand

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Well, after a year-long investigation that predated the Trump administration, the US set new anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar imports from Cambodia, malaysia, thailand and Vietnam, finding them guilty of exporting to the US at below their cost of production.

Speaker 1: 0:16

The tariff levels came to many as a surprise, as a 3,521% increase on Cambodian solar imports might well do. It suffered in particular as it had ceased participation in the investigation. These tariffs are a big deal for a number of US solar installers, with the country importing almost $13 billion worth of panels from these four countries, representing over 75% of total imports last year. And these fees will be on top of anything the Trump administration imposes in its wider tariff efforts. Unnamed companies exporting from Vietnam will see tariffs of almost 400%, with Thailand at 375% and Malaysia looking better at 34%.

Speaker 1: 0:56

Suggested by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to establish a price cap and price floor for its next two capacity auctions set to occur over the coming year and affecting the 2026, 2027, and 2027, 2028 delivery years that will commence on June 1st. This action will set a new floor of about $175 per megawatt day and a ceiling of $375, replacing the former $500 ceiling and $0 floor. So these next two years are going to be pretty ugly for electricity consumers, as these costs are passed on to them based upon how much they consume during each of the five system peak hours during the year. Pgm reserve margins are low. Little new firm capacity is in sight and demand is rising, in part because of massive data center interconnection requests, although many of these will take some time to come online. The supply-demand imbalance is likely to push prices to the high side. Putting this in perspective, last year's $269 per megawatt day price was the only time auction results had ever cleared over $175. Just two years ago, the price cleared under $29 per megawatt day, with the year prior at slightly over $34. Looked at another way, capacity may shoot from between being 6 to 10 percent of the overall wholesale bill in recent years to as much as 20 percent or more A tough pill to swallow these days.

Speaker 1: 2:25

Well, the US government just announced a new emergency permitting process for energy and mining projects on federal lands, with approval times for these projects cut significantly. The Department of Interior said that projects analyzed in an environmental assessment that typically take up to one year will now be reviewed within approximately 14 days. Projects requiring a full environmental impact statement typically a two-year process will be reviewed in roughly 28 days. The DOI justified that decision saying it was in response to President Trump's declaration of an energy emergency. In that declaration, trump cited increased energy demand, particularly from data centers. The accelerated energy permitting process will only apply to fossil fuel projects geothermal power, coal, uranium and other critical minerals, biofuels and kinetic hydropower. Other renewable energy projects need not apply. The DOI also said it will employ other ways to comply with environmental protection, but offered no concrete examples and will be quote adopting an alternative National Environmental Policy Act compliance process to allow for more concise documents and a compressed timeline. Unquote.

Speaker 1: 3:35

General Motors now exceeds Tesla in US battery production capacity. According to Bloomberg, nef, its $2.3 billion Altium cell plant is currently operating at partial capacity, while its Lordstown Ohio joint venture with LG Energy Solutions has already achieved mass production. At a recent Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, gm's VP of Battery and Energy, kurt Kelty, said that GM had cut battery costs by $60 per kilowatt hour in 2023, with further cost reductions of $30 per kWh expected, resulting in costs as low as $100 per kWh, a 50% decrease from 2023. Also on the battery front, automotive groups Stellantis and US battery developer Factorial Energy have successfully validated solid-state battery sales for EVs, part of their joint effort to create a demonstration fleet of Dodge Charger Daytonas equipped with solid-state batteries next year. Stellantis invested $75 million in Factorial in 2021, joining Mercedes-Benz, which began testing solid-state technology in a modified EQS in February. Solid-state cells promise higher energy density and faster charging, and the two companies claim that the cells support a state-of-charge increase from 15% to over 90% within 18 minutes.

Speaker 1: 4:52

Well, what do you get at ISO New England when you combine the Easter holiday with mild temps and blue skies? When you combine the Easter holiday with mild temps and blue skies, you get record low energy consumption, with preliminary data showing demand at only 5,318 megawatts on the afternoon of April 20th 2025. This is the fourth year in a row that Grid has seen a new record, but this year's record eclipsed last year's by 1,200 megawatts lower. That is, if you can use the word eclipse to talk about solar. The reason for this phenomenon is combined normal low demand, heating and cooling load is pretty low in mid-spring, combined with huge amounts of rooftop solar that the grid operator sees only as an absence of demand. Estimated on-site solar peaked at around 6,600 megawatts. Of course, then, when the sun set, demand more than doubled. So a lot of generation, mostly gas, gen and hydro facilities had to be kept on standby, as they typically are in these solar-heavy spring days. Well, thanks for watching. We'll see you again soon.