<\/p>\n
Elimination of import tariffs could reduce the cost of solar panels. This is a solar panel-covered parking lot at Sutters Landing Park as seen in January 2022. <\/p>\n
Xavier Mascare\u00f1as<\/p>\n
xmascarenas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Following a Supreme Court ruling striking down tariffs imposed by the Trump administration<\/a>, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District said it is \u201cevaluating the potential impacts\u201d of the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a complex situation, and at this stage, we don\u2019t yet have clear answers on specific outcomes,\u201d Gamaliel Ortiz, a spokesperson for SMUD told The Sacramento Bee in an email, adding \u201cRegardless of how federal policies or tariffs evolve, SMUD remains fully committed to our 2<\/a>030 Zero Carbon Plan.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down a pillar of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff agenda, ruling that his sweeping \u201creciprocal\u201d duties on imports were unlawful and undercutting a policy he had cast as essential to protecting U.S. producers from foreign competitors. The unprecedented tariff push by the administration injected new uncertainty into the clean energy transition by adding another layer of duties on top of existing equipment tariffs.<\/p>\n Andrew Campbell, executive director of UC Berkeley\u2019s Energy Institute at Haas, said that while reciprocal tariffs were not the biggest driver of energy bills, they had been a \u201csignificant contributor\u201d to higher costs for large-scale clean energy projects in California. Striking them down, he explained, should make new solar projects somewhat cheaper and provide a modest, \u201ccumulative\u201d benefit on customers\u2019 bills over the next decade.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the tariffs remain gone, then that would cause a little bit of a reduction in the cost of new solar projects, and I would expect that that cost savings would generally come to consumers in California,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia has been maintaining very aggressive clean energy goals. There are going to be more solar, wind and battery projects built in California year after year, so each one of those will be cheaper without the tariffs in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Trump also moved to increase Section 232 tariffs<\/a> on imported steel and aluminum, raising rates on both metals to 50% under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Because Friday\u2019s ruling does not apply to tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum, Campbell said, they remain a major driver of energy costs.<\/p>\n \u201cA large number of things in the utility system involve steel and aluminum, so those tariffs have a widespread impact,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n He noted that the two metals also add to clean energy costs, because solar, wind and battery projects depend on steel and aluminum-heavy infrastructure such as transmission lines, towers and other grid equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are the ones that probably have the biggest impact on energy bills,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Trump pushed back against the court\u2019s ruling, pledging just hours after the decision to sign an executive order imposing a new 10% global tariff on imports.<\/p>\n This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 2:45 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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