DTN 095: The US clean energy manufacturing revolution is real

“The solar manufacturing story has a clear takeaway: In a rapid turnaround, the U.S. transformed from import-dependent to almost self-sufficient in producing the finished photovoltaic panels that turn sunlight into electricity.

The U.S. was on track to install 40.5 gigawatts of solar generation during 2024, per a December analysis by research firm Wood Mackenzie. Manufacturers had built nearly 40 gigawatts of domestic solar panel production capacity as of that report’s publication; 9.3 gigawatts of that came online in the third quarter alone. Solar panel manufacturing capacity has nearly quintupled since 2022, the year that the Inflation Reduction Act created tax incentives for domestic fabrication.

This lightning-fast turnaround belies a lingering challenge: The U.S. makes very little of the solar cells that go into the finished panels (which are also called modules, in the industry parlance). And it’s way behind on the steps that precede cell production: forming silicon ingots and slicing them into wafers. These heavy-duty industrial processes are more costly to build and generate more complicated environmental impacts than the relatively straightforward assembly of modules.”