[The Commerce Department said it will issue a preliminary determination within 150 days. Auxin welcomed the decision. An array of solar panels is seen in the desert near Victorville, California, on Mar 28, 2018. (Photo by=REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)]

US trade officials on Monday said they will launch an investigation that could result in tariffs on solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations, a blow to clean energy project developers that rely on cheap imports to keep costs down.
 
The Commerce Department's decision regarding imports from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia was a victory for Auxin Solar. The San Jose, California-based solar manufacturer this year requested the probe, arguing that Chinese manufacturers shifted production to those nations to avoid paying U.S. duties in place for nearly a decade on Chinese-made solar goods. Auxin's petition is the latest in a string of efforts by US solar producers to stem the flow of cheap Asian panels that they argue to make their products unable to compete in the market.

Solar industry trade groups said the investigation alone would immediately hamstring project development and harm U.S. progress in addressing climate change. President Joe Biden has set a goal of weaning the US electricity sector off of fossil fuels by 2035, a target that could propel solar to supply up to 40 percent of the nation's electricity needs - up from 3 percent currently. Imports from the four countries account for about 80 percent of the panels expected to be installed in the United States this year, according to the American Clean Power Association industry group.