Australian utility-scale solar projects face a significant increase in costs after the Australian government agreed to impose hefty new tariffs on imported steel at the request of local steel-makers.
The decision by Industry minister Tim Ayres, published with no fanfare on Friday, threatens to impose a 48 per cent duty on hollow steel tubing – including those used in torque tubes that support the mounting of solar modules – imported from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea.
Solar industry sources note the decision is retrospective – to September last year – and so could impact multiple gigawatts of recently completed projects and others that are about to start construction.
They say it will add significantly to project costs, and potentially puts a further question mark over Australia’s ability to meet its ambitious renewable energy target of 82 per cent by 2030, already under strain because of a lack of investment, particularly in big wind projects.
The solar industry, and particularly solar-battery hybrids, has been the strongest part of the green energy transition in the past year, given the multiple challenges facing the wind industry.
