America’s solar manufacturers aren’t making enough modules to support domestic demand, according to a new report that sheds light on the industry’s lingering reliance on imports as the Biden administration manages a contentious solar trade dispute.
U.S. solar module manufacturing rose sharply in the first quarter of 2024 but remains well below the figure needed to sustain new installations, according to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
“The U.S. solar industry continues to show strength in terms of deployments,” Michelle Davis, lead author of the report and head of global solar at Wood Mackenzie, said in a press release. “At the same time, the solar industry faces a number of challenges to its continued growth including availability of labor, high voltage equipment constraints, and continued trade policy uncertainty.”
The report — published Wednesday — found that U.S. solar module output was 2.8 gigawatts in the first quarter of 2024, which is more than double the output from the same period of 2023.
