U.S. to Place Tariffs on Solar Panels From China

[FarCenter]

12. This will probably result in the US using poorer solar panels

The Chinese panels are largely crystaline silicon solar cells. They are somewhat more labor intensive to manufacture.

US manufacturers like Solyndra are attempting to use amorphous silicon or a variety of other thin film combinations that can be coated onto sheets or rolls of materials using highly automated processes in order to keep costs down, given the US' high labor costs. But these panels typically are less efficient at turning sunlight into electricity, are not proven to be durable over decade long service lives, and some combinations use highly toxic materials that must be properly recycled at end of life.

also http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-solar-20120320,0,2891514.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+(L.A.+Times+-+Business)

SolarWorld Industries America Inc., the largest U.S. maker of silicon solar cells and panels and a subsidiary of Germany-based SolarWorld, has led the U.S. manufacturers' complaints.