ReneSola Ltd ("ReneSola" or the "Company")  (NYSE: SOL), a leading solar project developer and operator, commented today on the imposition of safeguard tariffs on certain imported solar cells and modules.

"While higher prices for the modules we buy are never welcome, the new tariff rate was widely anticipated," said Doran Hole, ReneSola's Chief Executive Officer of North America and Group Vice President of Strategy. "We believe the U.S. project development industry has already adjusted to the tariffs, and the impact on growth should be benign."

In September 2017, the company divested its manufacturing and LED distribution businesses, and is now a pure play downstream player with robust pipeline and operating projects around the world. Accordingly, the company anticipates that the only impact of the tariffs will be to the purchase price of modules used in only one of its markets, the U.S. The company believes that ongoing technical advancement in the cell and module manufacturing industry will drive continued price reductions in the years ahead, which will be beneficial to its business model.

Hole continued, "We do not expect the temporarily higher prices of some modules to diminish the rapid growth of new development opportunities in the U.S. Community solar and rooftop distributed generation are two examples of the burgeoning activity we are pursuing. As module prices continue to decline over time, we expect to see accelerating activity in those segments. We remain very optimistic about the growth prospects for the solar energy industry, both in the U.S. and around the world."

Yesterday, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that U.S. President Trump approved the recommendation to impose safeguard tariffs on imported solar cells and modules. The relief will include a tariff of 30 percent in the first year, 25 percent in the second year, 20 percent in the third year, and 15 percent in the fourth year. However, the first 2.5 gigawatts of imported solar cells will be exempt from the safeguard tariff in each of those four years.

Source: PRNewswire