In 2017, employment in the U.S. solar industry showed negative growth for the first time

The Solar Foundation's latest data from the National Solar Job Census 2017, released this week, shows that the U.
S.
solar industry lost nearly 10,000 jobs in 2017, the first time employment fell
since the foundation began releasing the industry's employment census in 2010.

The National Solar Occupation Census found that the U.
S.
solar industry employed a total of 250,271 people in 2017, down 3.
8 percent from 2016 and about 9,800 fewer people
.
While long-term trends offset this, with solar industry employment growing 168 percent over the past seven years, from 93,000 jobs in 2010 to more than 250,000 jobs in 2017, under U.
S.
President Donald Trump's tenure, the industry predicts 2018 will be a disastrous year
for the solar industry.

According to the Sun Foundation, three key factors contributed to the slowdown
in the U.
S.
solar industry in 2017.
With the massive expansion in 2016, which doubled installed capacity from 2015 to 2016, the 30% Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is expected to expire (which has been extended).

In 2017, the new installed capacity of solar energy in the United States continued to be moderate
due to the natural stability of the industry.
Regions like California also face significant policy and economic challenges, as well as uncertainty
arising from Section 201 trade cases filed with the International Trade Commission by Suniva and SolarWorld.

2017 wasn't all bad, with solar jobs growing in 29 states (and the District of Columbia), especially in states with emerging solar markets
.
For example, Utah (+1,762 jobs, the same below), Minnesota (+1,383), Arizona (+1,070), New Jersey (+1,050), New York (+877) and Tennessee (+863).

However, in California (-13,636 jobs, the same below), Massachusetts (-3,053) and Nevada (-1,807), these are the three states
with the most pronounced job losses.

Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director of the Solar Energy Foundation, explained: "After six years of rapid and steady growth, the solar industry faced a contrarian trend, resulting in a decline in employment in 2017, including a slowdown
in new solar development.
Uncertainty over trade frictions could also have an impact
on solar job growth.
At the same time, employment in 29 states is an encouraging sign that solar dominates the country as a low-cost, sustainable, reliable energy source
.
”

Clearly, 2018 will be a tough year
for the U.
S.
solar industry.
In January, after nine months of uncertainty, Donald Trump responded to the Section 201 trade case filed by Suniva and SolarWorld in April 2017 by introducing a 30% tariff
on imported solar cells and modules.

The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) immediately predicted that the tariffs would cost 23,000 solar jobs in 2018 alone, while GTM Research expects the tariffs to reduce installed capacity by 11% (about 7.
6GW)
over the next five years.

The Sun Foundation's employment census survey was released in the fourth quarter of 2017 and initially predicted a slow recovery in the U.
S.
solar industry in 2018, with jobs increasing by about
5.
2 percent.
Installation jobs are expected to grow 6.
2 percent, adding more than 8,000 jobs, project development is expected to grow 5.
2 percent, adding just 1,900 jobs, and manufacturing is expected to grow by about 1 percent, adding nearly 400 jobs
in 2018.
Obviously, these forecasts represent pre-tariff uncertainty rather than post-tariff certainty, and in fact this forecast may be overly optimistic
.