Falling solar module costs, a ramp-up in domestic manufacturing, backed up grid interconnection queues, high interest rates and shifting policies, trade policy enforcement, weather resilience efforts and more have guided the solar industry to where we stand today.
Throughout the year, pv magazine USA provides regular news and analysis for the U.S. solar industry, from residential solar through commercial, industrial, community, utility-scale solar and more. It is a thrilling industry to cover, with policy, trade, geopolitics, innovation, environmental impacts, consumer and business needs all shaping the outcomes of PV development.
In 2024, solar continued to represent the largest share among technology types for new electricity generation capacity brought online. According to the Energy Information Administrations, over 64% of new capacity added to the grid through three quarters in 2024 was solar.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reports that the U.S. has installed 220 GW of solar cumulatively, with more than 10% of the cumulative total brought online in 2024 alone. SEIA estimates that over 10,000 solar businesses operate in the U.S., employing nearly 280,000 people and representing an estimated market value of roughly $64 billion. Well over 5 million solar arrays have been installed in the U.S., from small systems consisting of few panels to large power plants comprised of millions of panels.
Here are a few trends pv magazine USA reported this year:
Domestic manufacturing rises
The United States is taking a multi-pronged approach to bringing back manufacturing jobs, and solar manufacturing plays a large role. Between rich incentives for domestic manufacturing in the Inflation Reduction Act, and large risks from tariffs, antidumping law enforcement, and other supply risks, the balance has begun to shift to make a strong business case for building manufacturing plants on U.S. shores.
Domestic module manufacturing capacity increased by over 9 GW in Q3 to nearly 40 GW with five new or expanded factories in Alabama, Florida, Ohio and Texas. The capacity has nearly quintupled since the end of Q2 2022 when it stood at 7 GW just before passage of domestic manufacturing and procurement tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Looking ahead, the U.S. will seek to address more costly and difficult stages in the solar supply chain. It will need to ramp up manufacturing of polysilicon, ingot refinement, and wafer and cell manufacturing to have a resilient and self-reliant energy supply chain.
Global module supply
Meanwhile, the global supply chain for solar has experienced some new undulations in price and availability. A global oversupply of solar modules has led to rapidly declining prices and shrinking margins for global suppliers.
And while prices are lower than ever for solar modules, importers in the United States are continually buffeted by new risks. Steadily increasing tariffs, enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) laws and subsequent product detentions, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, (UFLPA) and more are all adding significant risk to purchasing solar products overseas.
Interconnection roadblock
An ongoing steep hurdle to the development of more utility-scale solar in the United States is the increasingly lengthy, expensive, and uncertain process of electric grid interconnection approvals.
By year-end 2023, 1086 GW of solar projects awaited transmission interconnection, along with 503 GW of standalone storage, according to preliminary data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This number has only increased in 2024.
In response to the growing problem, the U.S. Department of Energy released a roadmap for improving interconnection processes nationwide. It stated that today, only 45% of projects that apply for interconnection are approved to join the grid and applications can take three years or more to process. DOE targets a 70% completion rate with a 12-month maximum review period.
Residential solar struggles
Residential solar did not have a banner year for growth in 2024. Persistent high interest rates and anti-rooftop solar rulemaking decisions at the state-level have challenged installers looking to growth their business.
Long-running major residential solar installer SunPower went bankrupt, as did Titan Solar Power. Residential solar installers are expected to increasingly seek to evolve their home energy offerings, including high-value products and services like battery energy storage, EV charging, home energy management devices and more.
Weather resilience
The electric grid in the United States is aging and in need of repair while extreme weather events that can damage equipment are on the rise.
At the residential level, this has led to an increased demand for battery energy storage alongside a solar installation. Homeowners can keep the lights on during broader grid outages by bringing energy generation and storage closer to home.
At the utility-scale, increased weather impacts have led to evolving products. Many major manufacturers are developing hail-resistant solar modules, particularly for Texas, a hail-prone region that is also the leading utility-scale solar market nationally. Solar racking providers introduced many new wind-stow and hail resistant products, hardening their components to ensure resilient, long-term operations.
Thank you
To all our pv magazine USA readers in 2024, thank you. We look forward to continuing our daily news and analysis, bringing you the latest in solar, energy storage, and more.
For more reading, check out our top 10 stories in 2024, solar energy experts’ predictions for 2025, and the top 10 priorities for the solar industry under the incoming Trump Administration.
