The U.S. module manufacturing capacity has surpassed 50 GW,  according to a recent report by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). This growth could allow the U.S. to produce enough modules to meet its current demand.

SEIA said module manufacturing has grown five-fold since federal energy policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), were passed. The association claims the policies allowed the U.S. to become the third-largest solar module producer globally.

Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of SEIA, said, “Reaching 50 GW of domestic solar manufacturing capacity is a testament to what we can achieve with smart, business-friendly public policies in place. The U.S. is now the third largest module producer in the world because of these policy actions.”

In 2020, SEIA set a goal to reach 50 GW of manufacturing capacity by 2030. The target focused on all levels of the solar supply chain, including modules, cells, ingots and wafers, polysilicon, trackers, and inverters.

The association said that at the time, the U.S. domestic manufacturing capacity stood at a maximum of 7 GW for modules and 41 MT for polysilicon while having limited production of inverters and racking.

The U.S. solar manufacturing sector has announced total investments of $40.2 billion since federal manufacturing policies were enacted in 2022. Of this amount, $8.7 billion is invested in operational projects, $16.2 billion in projects under active construction, and $15.2 billion in projects under development.

According to SEIA, U.S. solar tracker manufacturing capacity currently exceeds 80 GW. Additionally, companies have announced plans to produce 56 GW of solar cells, 24 GW of wafers, and 13 GW of ingots in the country.

Recent federal manufacturing tax credits have also positively impacted mounting systems manufacturing facilities. To date, 26 racking facilities have announced new locations or expansions, marking a 50% increase in mounting systems manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Power Electronics and Grid Technologies

The association said that 18 power electronics suppliers have either announced new facilities or expansions of existing ones since the passing of federal manufacturing tax credits.

Four of the new investments will produce hybrid inverters (for both solar and battery energy storage systems), two will create microinverters, and one will focus on string inverters for the utility-scale market.

Storage Supply Chain

The country’s storage supply chain includes battery materials (anode and cathode materials and electrolyte), cells, and packs.

Cell and pack capacity is expected to increase in the coming years. Midstream processing for anode and cathode materials is expected to begin operations by 2025, with an announced 580,000 MT of battery materials targeted to be online by the decade’s end.

Recently, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released additional guidance on the IRA’s domestic content bonus for clean electricity production and investment tax credits. The updated safe harbor applies to solar projects, domestic solar wafers, land-based wind projects, and battery energy storage systems.

In December last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its preliminary affirmative determinations in the anti-dumping duty investigations of crystalline photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. This move follows investigations from concerns that manufacturers in these countries benefit from unfair government subsidies.