After Tax Credit Aid, US Solar Module Production Rises By 600%

After Tax Credit Aid, US Solar Module Production Rises By 600%

Solar module manufacturing capacity in the United States (US) rose by around 600% after the federal government’s tax credit support to the industry, a report said. The latest update from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said that the tax credit support bolstered the growth of the solar industry in the region significantly. These tax credits were announced in 2022.

“To date, there has been the strongest growth in module manufacturing, growing from 7 GW prior to the federal manufacturing tax credits to 51.7 GW as of February 2025, which is an increase of over 600%,” the report from SEIA said.

The institution said that the growth was not only registered on solar modules but the backward integration strength of the solar industry also received a shot in the arm with supportive government policies. It said that the country is now looking forward to witnessing a series of growth in solar cell manufacturing too. SEIA said that the country is also likely to see the commencement of production of polysilicon, wafers and ingots too in the country towards the end of this year.

“Since the passage of new manufacturing tax credits, there have been investments to build and expand across the whole solar module supply chain, including ingots, wafers, and cells. Before the federal manufacturing incentives were enacted, there was 50,00 MT/year (approximately 25 GW) of polysilicon capacity and 7 GW/year of module manufacturing capacity,” it said.

SEIA also added, “More polysilicon capacity is expected to come online in the next few years. Suppliers expect the first ingot and wafer facilities to come online by the end of 2025. In 2024, cell manufacturing was onshored for the first time since 2019, and the market expects additional cell manufacturing capacity to come online throughout 2025,” it said.

Total Solar and Storage Manufacturing Expenditures. 

Tax Credits and US Solar Manufacturing 

The forum said that a strong US solar and storage manufacturing base could reduce supply chain uncertainty, drive clean energy deployment and strengthen America’s energy security. The industry body said that federal policies proved key towards the sector.

“Federal policies that directly support domestic manufacturing (Section 45X tax credit, Section 48C tax credit), solar deployment incentives (ITC and PTC), and policies that encourage demand for domestic products (domestic content adder credit) have worked in tandem to lead to a surge in U.S. solar and energy storage manufacturing investments,” it said.

US Storage Supply Chain Capacity

Key Statistics Of US Solar Market 

Some of the key statistics shared by SEIA are as follows-

• U.S. solar manufacturing announced investments now total $40.2 billion since federal manufacturing policies were enacted in 2022.
• $8.7 billion of these manufacturing investment announcements are operational, $16.2 billion are under active construction, and another $15.2 billion manufacturing investments are under development.
• These investments will create over 44,000 manufacturing jobs. By 2033, SEIA expects America’s solar manufacturing workforce will grow to 100,000 workers.
• Of these jobs, 11,850 are in facilities that are operational, 14,560 of these jobs are in manufacturing facilities under active construction, and 17,590 of these jobs are in facilities that are under development.
• 73 new solar and storage manufacturing facilities have come online because of federal manufacturing incentives and 48 facilities are under active construction.
• There are solar manufacturing facilities in 43 states and Puerto Rico.
• 279 manufacturing facilities have opened or planning to open in 23 states with Republican governors and 200 manufacturing facilities have opened or are planning to open in 20 states with Democrat governors.
• 263 manufacturing facilities have opened or planning to open in 122 congressional districts with Republican representatives and 170 have opened or are planning to open in 90 congressional districts with Democrat representatives.
• There is currently 51.7 gigawatts (GW) of domestic module manufacturing capacity online, enough to supply most of American demand in 2025.
• According to the SEIA supply chain dashboard, there have been more than 100 new solar and storage manufacturing announcements since federal manufacturing incentives were established.