United States could exceed 50GW of solar manufacturing capacity by 2030 thanks to IRA rewards, SEIA says

• The United States could exceed 50GW of solar manufacturing capacity by the end of this years with the right application of motivations included in the nation's recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

That is according to a new whitepaper from trade body Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which lays out just how the United States PV market can capitalise on new policy assistance and also build a manufacturing base that is cost-competitive and also makes sure adequate need.

Authorized into legislation by President Joe Biden earlier today, the IRA consists of producing tax credits for PV components consisting of modules, cells, wafers, backsheets, polysilicon, inverters and also trackers.

As a direct outcome of the regulation, SEIA anticipates to see substantial new investments in domestic solar module, tracker, inverter and also racking capacity within the next a couple of years, adhered to by new investments in ingot, wafer and also cell capacity within three to five years.

"For the very first time, the United States has industrial policy in place that will certainly usher in a new era of clean power manufacturing," stated SEIA chief executive officer Abigail Ross Hopper.

According to the trade body, new manufacturing capacity can considerably lower shipping and also import prices, protecting the United States solar and also storage space sector from international supply disruption and help protect the dependability of the grid.

SEIA's whitepaper, Catalyzing American Solar Manufacturing, recommends that manufacturers take into consideration demand and also timing for their products as well as focus their attention on downstream manufacturing initially. This includes increasing module manufacturing so there is existing need for residential cells, ingots as well as wafers as soon as these items become available.

The research notes that while the United States presently has capacity to produce metallurgical-grade silicon, polysilicon, steel, aluminium, materials, racking and also mountings, the country presently has no domestic ingot, wafer or cell manufacturing capacity and just modest capacity to produce solar modules, inverters as well as trackers.

Download report:

SEIA Manufacturing Roadmap 2022_4