The U.S. is seeing record solar energy capacity growth each year, thanks to greater public and private investment in the sector. The already rapidly growing solar industry boomed following the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other favourable policies. This growth is expected to continue, with several large-scale solar farms in the pipeline for the coming decade, supported by the deployment of utility-scale battery storage across the country. The solar boom has supported growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector and led to the creation of thousands of jobs. However, competition with China and tariffs on renewable energy equipment has cast a shadow over the U.S. solar industry at a time when it should be untouchable.
In Quarter One of 2024, solar installations increased by 21 percent year on year, taking the cumulative solar capacity in the U.S. to over 100 GW. Approximately 3,379 MW of utility-scale…
