Solar panel manufacturing shines in the US, but installations are falling

The US has quadrupled its capacity for manufacturing solar panels in just a couple of years since passing the biggest federal spending package yet on climate and clean energy.

Domestic solar module manufacturing capacity grew to 31.3 gigawatts in the second quarter of 2024, according to a report published this week by Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association. That’s a significant jump, comparable to around 80 percent of the roughly 40GW of solar the US installed last year.

It’s some welcome news as the US tries to meet goals it has set under the Paris agreement meant to keep climate disasters like wildfires and flooding from getting significantly worse. The Biden administration has made domestic manufacturing a…

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