The photovoltaic (PV) industry has become an important strategic pillar for the U.S. to achieve energy independence, promote employment, and consolidate its energy dominance. Although the technology originated in the U.S., the rapid rise of China’s PV industry over the past two decades has put the U.S. at a disadvantage in global competition. However, the current Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as the core of a series of major investment and support policies are leading the U.S. solar industry to profound changes, helping it regain the global solar manufacturing leadership.
In 2017, the U.S. ranked only 14th in the global PV module manufacturing capacity, but by 2022, thanks to the mushrooming of new factories, especially in the southern region of the boom, the U.S. has jumped to the third place, successfully surpassed Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Turkey and other solar manufacturing powerhouses.
According to the U.S. Photovoltaic Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie’s latest study, the U.S. solar manufacturing industry has ushered in a critical turning point. Alabama, Florida, Ohio and Texas, five new and expanding factories, so that the United States PV module production capacity of nearly 40GW, in full production state, almost meet all the U.S. domestic solar energy needs.
The status quo of the U.S. PV industry chain Manufacturing
1. Module Georgia, Texas, Washington and South Carolina are investing billions of dollars in PV module production.
2.Battery Suniva has restarted its battery plant in Georgia, South Carolina, Georgia and Indiana have announced new battery manufacturing plans. Currently, 12GW of cell capacity is under construction, and another 34GW of capacity has been announced.
3. Silicon rods QCells has constructed a 3.3GW rod and wafer plant in Georgia, and at least one other U.S.-based company is preparing a related project, as well as REC Silicon, which has begun to re-invest in the polysilicon sector.1 Trackers Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Texas and Nevada are home to a large number of solar tracker manufacturers, who have even restarted the shuttered Bethlehem steel plant outside Pittsburgh.
4.Racking West Virginia and Texas are important bases for the manufacture of PV steel piles in the U.S., while Utah and Illinois produce a wide range of PV racking.
Over the past two years, U.S. solar manufacturers have announced $36 billion in investments and are expected to create more than 44,000 manufacturing jobs. Currently, 67 new PV and energy storage manufacturing plants are operational, while 48 more are actively under construction.. As demand for installed solar capacity grows, more manufacturing capacity will be activated and the supply chain will gradually improve. Some manufacturers have already set up factories in multiple states or cities, and the U.S. already has production capacity for the entire industry chain, from silicon, cells and modules to inverters, trackers and racking.
The U.S. Photovoltaic Association (SEIA) mentioned that they are in discussions with numerous companies and are poised to kick off the next phase of domestic solar manufacturing. Driven by U.S. policies, this could turn into the most successful example of manufacturing repatriation in history. However, for Chinese companies, high investment and management costs and the intensification of competition in the U.S. domestic manufacturing industry, will bring the pressure of shrinking market share and barriers to entry, the former “inward roll” or will be transformed into “outward roll”.
