Wall Street Journal: Companies Race To Build Solar Industry in U.S.
By Phred Dvorak
More than 40 gigawatts of new solar-panel plants are in various stages of planning in the U.S., almost five times what the U.S. has now, said Andy Klump, chief executive of Clean Energy Associates, a consulting firm that helps renewable-energy companies with supply chains.
Solar accounts for about 4% of U.S. power generation. President Biden and other advocates of green energy are trying to boost that number significantly. To make that happen, though, the U.S. would need to build a supply chain almost from scratch. At the moment, the U.S. has little or no manufacturing for almost any component needed to produce solar energy.
Spurred by the incentives outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act, some green energy companies say they are increasing investments in U.S. manufacturing. More than 40 gigawatts of new solar-panel plants are in various stages of planning in the U.S., almost five times what the U.S. has now, said Andy Klump, chief executive of Clean Energy Associates, a consulting firm that helps renewable-energy companies with supply chains.