Report: U.S. Solar Panel Manufacturing Capacity Grows Nearly 4× Under New Federal Incentives

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U.S. photo voltaic trade added 9.4 GW of latest set up capability in Q2 2024, however challenges persist that hinder the market’s full potential.

ANAHEIM, California and WASHINGTON, D.C. — Photo voltaic module manufacturing capability in the US now exceeds 31 gigawatts (GW) — an almost four-fold improve for the reason that Inflation Discount Act (IRA) grew to become regulation in 2022.

In keeping with the U.S. Photo voltaic Market Perception Q3 2024 report launched immediately by the Photo voltaic Vitality Industries Affiliation (SEIA) and Wooden Mackenzie, federal clear power insurance policies proceed to drive manufacturing and deployment development because the photo voltaic trade put in 9.4 GW of latest electrical technology capability in Q2 2024.

In two years underneath the IRA, the photo voltaic trade has added 75 GW of latest capability to the grid, representing over 36% of all photo voltaic capability inbuilt U.S. historical past. Almost 1.5 million American houses have put in photo voltaic for the reason that IRA handed.

“The solar and storage industry is turning federal clean energy policies into action by rapidly creating jobs and powering economic growth in all 50 states, particularly in battleground states like Arizona, Nevada and Georgia,” stated SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “We are now manufacturing historic amounts of solar energy in America, and soon, we will have enough domestic module production to supply nearly all U.S. demand for years to come.”

Texas continues its run as a dominant photo voltaic market, main the nation with 5.5 GW of photo voltaic capability put in within the first half of 2024. States with intently watched elections this November, together with Texas, Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Arizona, are among the many high 10 photo voltaic states in 2024.

“The solar industry had a great second quarter, mostly due to growth in the utility-scale segment,” stated Michelle Davis, head of world photo voltaic at Wooden Mackenzie and lead writer of the report. “But future solar growth is being hindered by broader power sector challenges — interconnection backlogs, electrical equipment shortages, and constraints on labor availability. The industry also faces uncertainty related to newly proposed tariffs and the presidential election. There is currently a lot to navigate in the solar industry.”

The residential photo voltaic market continued to contract in Q2 2024, pushed by coverage adjustments in California and excessive rates of interest nationally. The sector added 1.1 GW of latest capability in Q2, its lowest quarter in practically three years. Nevertheless, the residential photo voltaic market is anticipated to see development once more in 2025 and is projected to set annual information from 2026-2029.

Annual photo voltaic installations will develop at 4% on common over the subsequent a number of years because the trade contends with beforehand talked about challenges. By 2029, complete U.S. photo voltaic capability is anticipated to double to 440 GW.

Solar Market Insight Report Introduction

• In Q2 2024, the US photo voltaic market put in 9.4 GW_dc of capability, a document second quarter for the trade. Whereas installations declined 21% quarter-over-quarter, they elevated 29% from a 12 months earlier.
• Photo voltaic accounted for 67% of all new electricity-generating capability added to the US grid within the first half of 2024.
• Home module manufacturing capability elevated by over 10 GW to 31.3 GW in Q2 2024 as extra services continued to return on-line.
• Texas was the main state for photo voltaic installations within the first half of the 12 months, with 5.5 GW_dc on-line — practically twice as a lot capability as Florida, the second-ranked state, which had 2.9 GW_dc.
• The residential section continued to say no, with 1.1 GW_dc put in in Q2, a lower of 10% quarter-over-quarter and 37% year-over-year. California continued to drive this decline, shrinking 36% from the primary quarter throughout the state’s transition to web billing. We anticipate residential photo voltaic installations to hit a flooring this 12 months, driving a 19% contraction in residential photo voltaic nationwide.
• The business photo voltaic section put in 427 MW_dc in Q2 2024, 5% lower than Q1 2024 and 6% greater than Q2 2023.
• The group photo voltaic section put in 270 MW_dc in Q2 2024, a decline of 12% each quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. A handful of states noticed quarter-over-quarter development, however this was outweighed by declines in key markets like Maine, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
• The utility-scale section put in 7.6 GW_dca sturdy 59% improve year-over-year. Whereas this displays a 23% decline from Q1 2024, first quarter volumes have been excessive attributable to tasks lastly coming on-line after numerous delays all through 2023.
• On this report, we’ve integrated our estimated impacts of potential new antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on imports of crystalline silicon cells and modules from 4 Southeast Asian international locations. Preliminary determinations for these tariffs are anticipated this fall. Whereas there may be nonetheless appreciable uncertainty round ultimate particulars, we anticipate that tariff impacts on photo voltaic deployment will likely be modest. There’s enough cell and module manufacturing capability from a number of sources that isn’t topic to the proposed tariffs: manufacturing situated exterior of the goal international locations, increasing home manufacturing, and sources of skinny movie modules.
• Our newest five-year outlooks present the US photo voltaic trade will persistently set up a minimum of 40 GW_dc per 12 months from 2025 onward. This 12 months, installations are anticipated to say no 4%, pushed by a 2% decline within the utility-scale section and a 19% decline within the residential section. From 2025-2029, annual development will common 4% for the whole trade. Utility-scale photo voltaic — the most important section — continues to be restricted by an absence of labor availability, excessive voltage tools constraints, and interconnection delays.

Photo voltaic Cheat Sheet

Present Photo voltaic Capability:
209.8 GW

Complete Photo voltaic Jobs:
263,883

Worth of Photo voltaic Market in 2023:
$60.1 billion

Variety of U.S. Photo voltaic Companies:
10,000+

Complete Photo voltaic Techniques Put in within the U.S.:
5,137,576

10-year Photo voltaic PV Worth Decline:
43%

Carbon Emissions Diminished:
224 million metric tons

In 2023, a New Venture is Put in Each
39 seconds

Sufficient Photo voltaic Put in within the U.S. to Energy
35.8 million houses

For extra: Solar Data Cheat Sheet.

Courtesy of SEIA.