Solar and storage units have disclosed a whooping number of over $100 billion in private sector investments in the US. These figures are majorly emerging after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago. The information is freshly revealed by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
It is worth noting here that President Joe Biden signed and approved the IRA in August 2022. Whereby 51 solar factories have been announced or expanded in the US.
Additionally, these new and expanded factories will substantially invest approximately $20 billion into US communities. This is responsible for 155 gigawatts (GW) of new production capacity with respect to the solar supply chain. Additionally, this would comprise 85 GW of solar panel capacity, 43 GW of solar cells, 20 GW of silicon ingots and wafers, and 7 GW of inverter capacity respectively.
Furthermore, solar factories declared in the last year are significantly employing more than 20,000 Americans. It is estimated that by 2026, the US will have over 17 times more than its present manufacturing capacity. This is with respect to modules, cells, wafers, ingots, and inverters. By the time, when these disclosed factories are online and that has enough capacity to supply the majority of projects expected to be built in the US.
Talking about post-IRA battery storage growth. Then 65 GWh of manufacturing capacity has been declared for 14 new or expanded units. Moving ahead, over 3 GW of new large-scale energy storage projects have been deployed last year respectively.
“The unprecedented surge in demand for American-made clean energy is a clear sign that the clean energy incentives enacted last year by Congress are working,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the SEIA, a solar nonprofit trade association. “This law is a shining example of how good federal policy can help spur innovation and private investment in communities that need it most.”
