SEIA publishes guidelines for building less import-reliant solar supply chain

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) revealed a white paper aiming to make the United States solar supply chain stronger and reduce reliance on imports, particularly from China. According to a press release, the paper titled “American Solar and Storage Manufacturing Renaissance: Managing the Transition Away from China” contains a plan to cut down imports while also relocating production and expanding domestic production in areas of the chain. Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA president and CEO, said that “American control of the solar supply chain is essential for our country’s safety and economic prosperity.” China is not going to simply surrender its economic power, so we must take logical steps to make use of the security brought about by the Inflation Reduction Act and establish a strong American clean energy manufacturing industry. The paper asserts that the existing policy framework is sufficient for the production of all parts of the solar supply chain in America in the near future and beyond. The SEIA report emphasizes that achieving American energy independence does not mean that the country should isolates itself from external markets, but instead take advantage of the opportunity to decrease dependence on China and other possible opponents for clean electricity infrastructure and materials. To further this cause, SEIA has released an interactive map showing current and prospective solar and battery production sites in the USA. This map displays the recent clean energy manufacturing investments that have been declared since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the huge investment that has been put into local manufacturing. This map incorporates all the different factors involved in the solar and storage business, from the production of raw materials such as polysilicon to the factories that assemble solar panels and manufacture components like tracking and racking systems. It allows users to look for different types of products, size of the facility, its location, job opportunities, sum of investments made, and the output produced. This map displays that the United States has declared 42 GW of solar module production, heading towards the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) target of 50 GW of domestic production capabilities by 2030. SEIA analysis estimates that employment in the solar manufacturing industry will advance from approximately 34,000 today to 150,000 jobs by the end of the decade. By 2030, it is estimated that 20% of solar industry employment will come from manufacturing, compared to 12.5% current levels. This surge of solar manufacturing is a result of the IRP which is set to create up to 80,000 good quality, family-sustaining jobs, according to Hopper.