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With the passage of a trifecta of clean energy laws, the U.S. now has a strong industrial policy that is boosting domestic manufacturing, bringing jobs to the U.S., increasing clean energy capacity, boosting the economy, and much more. What could change?
With the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act , and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) , the United States now has a strong industrial policy, and the resulting numbers are staggering in terms of capacity additions, manufacturing investments, and jobs.
Analysts have weighed in on what will happen to these policies under a second Trump administration, and the consensus is that the strong results of these policies will mostly keep them in place. A recent Bloomberg Intelligence report sees these policies potentially under threat, but rather than dismantling them unilaterally, changes could be made with targeted cuts.
A clear benefit of these policies is the offshoring of the supply chain and jobs to the United States. In the second quarter of 2024, solar module manufacturing capacity in the United States increased by more than 10 GW to 31.3 GW, and that number will continue to rise as more facilities come online. This American manufacturing is being felt in states that were considered swing states, such as Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina, which are home to 48% of the announced projects. These projects are accompanied by jobs.
“Domestic solar manufacturing has quadrupled under pro-business federal clean energy policies, and soon, we will have enough American-made solar panels to meet our demand for solar deployment,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in a statement released after Trump’s victory. “Nearly 9 in 10 Americans support these policies, which are lifting up communities in states like Ohio, Texas, Georgia and South Carolina with thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment.”
Another benefit is cost, as the solar industry has managed to drive down the cost of solar power to the point where solar accounted for 67% of all new electricity generating capacity added to the US grid in the first half of 2024. In the second quarter of 2024, the US solar market installed 9.4 GW of capacity.
"The market has spoken: clean energy is cheaper, easier and better," said Brendan Bell, chief operating officer of Aligned Climate Capital, a clean energy fund.
Another benefit is economics, and one area of ??huge growth since the passage of the IRA is the ability to carry forward tax credits, as Alfred Johnson, CEO of Crux, explained in a presentation during pv magazine ’s USA Week. Lesley Hunter, senior vice president of policy and engagement at ACORE, told a pv magazine USA Week panel that tax credits represent a historic long-term stimulus, as evidenced by the $100 billion invested in new clean energy generation projects.
Across all parties, it is clear that American voters support solar and clean energy manufacturing. Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) of American voters surveyed support the federal clean energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, including 78% of Trump voters.
Solar industry executives are calling for a bipartisan approach to clean energy. JD Dillon, chief marketing officer for California-based solar technology manufacturer Tigo Energy, sees a big push for clean energy and said that “in a perfect world we would take partisanship out of the renewable energy conversation because everyone benefits from a cleaner environment and affordable energy.”
“The move toward clean, renewable energy is both inevitable and the right thing to do. It will happen regardless of who is in the White House or in Congress. It may slow down or speed up, but it will continue,” Dillon said.
Ross Hopper congratulated President-elect Trump on his victory, saying he looks forward to working closely with his administration “to ensure that the solar and storage industry, as well as the renaissance of domestic manufacturing we have seen in recent years, continue to thrive and play a vital role in America’s energy economy.” |
