IRA spurs 155 GW of solar manufacturing announcements - SEIA

Solar park in Texas. Image by: Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S.

US solar and storage companies have announced more than USD 100 billion (EUR 91.5bn) in private sector investments since the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said this week.

In the past year, 51 solar manufacturing facilities have been announced or expanded. They will represent an investment of almost USD 20 billion and will create 155 GW of capacity across the solar supply chain, including 85 GW of solar module capacity, 43 GW of solar cells, 20 GW of silicon ingots and wafers and 7 GW of inverter capacity.

By 2026, these factories will increase the US’ manufacturing capacity more than 17-fold across modules, cells, wafers, ingots and inverters, providing enough capacity to cater to a majority of solar projects expected to be built in the country, according to the organisation.

In addition,14 new or expanded facilities have been announced to accommodate 65 GWh of energy storage manufacturing capacity.

“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 SEIA president and chief executive Abigail Ross Hopper.

By 2033, US installed solar capacity is forecast to reach 668 GW. The IRA is expected to spur an extra 160 GW of solar over the next 10 years when compared to a no-IRA scenario.

The legislation is also expected to create an additional 137,000 jobs by 2033 when compared with a no-IRA scenario.