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According to the US Solar Market Insight Q4 2024 report, domestic module manufacturing will be able to keep up with the rapid growth of the US solar industry, and cell production is accelerating.
The quest to offshoring the U.S. solar manufacturing supply chain has come with the challenge of unbalanced capacities of domestically manufactured modules, cells, wafers and ingots. But according to the US Solar Market Insight Q4 2024 report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, the tide may be turning.
Domestic module manufacturing capacity increased by more than 9 GW in the third quarter, to nearly 40 GW, with five new or expanded factories in Alabama, Florida, Ohio and Texas. Capacity has nearly quintupled since the end of the second quarter of 2022, when it stood at 7 GW just before the passage of domestic manufacturing and procurement tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act .
At full capacity, the United States can now produce enough solar modules to meet nearly all of the country’s demand, the report said. Demand is expected to be 40.5 GWdc in 2024, followed by average annual volumes of at least 43 GWdc between 2025 and 2029, the report said.
Cell manufacturing, however, has been slower to take hold due to the complexity and cost of the process. According to the report, the first U.S. cell manufacturing facility opened in the third quarter, the first since 2019.
“Federal solar policies and increased private investment are strengthening our nation’s energy security and creating thousands of new job opportunities for American workers,” said SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “The United States is stepping up to take market share from foreign competitors and ensuring that solar jobs and economic growth benefit American communities.”
While the gap between domestically produced modules and cells will close somewhat in the near term, eyes are now on anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on imported cells and modules manufactured in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam (CMTV) . The report notes that preliminary CVD rates are in line with industry expectations as supply chains diversify and that “overall, supply of key solar components continues to grow with options for buyers outside of affected countries, including the US.” |
