Warning - bit of a rant here.
So... We (our country) wants to encourage more energy from sources other than fossil fuels. To do that, we need things that produce that energy (solar cells) and a way to store that energy (larger storage batteries). So what do we do? Make them more expensive! What the....??
In other words, we dump the cost of moving to energy sources other than fossil fuels directly onto the people trying to make this change, in the form of higher prices. And then we wonder why we still have so much fossil fuel use, and greenhouse gas emissions, and all the problems that go with that. Good night, just DO what China does, and subsidize the heck out of the industries making these new technologies, if that's what it takes to keep costs down. That would encourage the shift to cleaner energy, and force the cost of that shift onto people still using the old energy sources. Instead, those of us trying to make the shift to cleaner energy will pay an artificially high price because of tariffs. And what will be done with that tariff money? Who the heck knows, but I bet it won't be spent efficiently on shifting to cleaner, renewable energy. And btw, I don't care which party is in power when it comes to this topic - I just don't want to be penalized for trying to do the right thing for the planet, and my family.
If you're mad at China, do things that cause pain to China (like removing the advantages of their subsidies). But how about doing that WITHOUT making US consumers trying to do the right thing bear the entire cost of that punitive action! We could both encourage US production AND encourage the shift to cleaner energy, by subsidizing OUR production. Instead, we choose to harm our own citizens by making it more expensive for them to adopt cleaner energy. That's just stupid.
electrek.co
