The American Solar Energy Industry Association and Wood Mackenzie (Wood Mackenzie) jointly issued a report stating that due to supply chain restrictions and rising raw material costs, the growth rate of the US solar industry in 2022 will be 25% lower than previous forecasts.
The latest data show that in the third quarter, the cost of utility, commercial, and residential solar energy continued to rise. Among them, in the public utility and commercial sectors, the year-on-year cost increase was the highest since 2014.
Utilities are particularly sensitive to price increases. Although the cost of photovoltaics has fallen by 12% from the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2021, with the recent surge in the price of steel and other materials, the cost reduction in the previous two years has been offset.
In addition to supply chain issues, trade uncertainty has also put pressure on the solar industry. However, the installed capacity of solar energy in the United States still increased by 33% from the same period last year, reaching 5.4 GW, setting a record for newly installed capacity in the third quarter. According to the Public Power Association (Public Power Association), the total power generation capacity in the United States is approximately 1,200 GW.
The residential solar installed capacity exceeded 1 GW in the third quarter, and more than 130,000 systems were installed in a single quarter. This is the first time in records. The scale of utility solar energy also set a record, with installed capacity of 3.8 GW in the quarter.
However, not all solar industries have achieved growth during this period. Due to interconnection issues and equipment delivery delays, commercial and community solar installed capacity fell 10% and 21% quarter-on-quarter, respectively.
The US solar market has never experienced so many opposing influence factors. On the one hand, the bottleneck of the supply chain continues to escalate, putting the entire industry at risk. On the other hand, the “Rebuild a Better Future Act” is expected to become a major market stimulus for the industry, enabling it to achieve long-term growth.
According to Wood Mackenzie’s prediction, if the “Rebuild a Better Future Act” is signed into law, the cumulative solar power capacity of the United States will exceed 300 GW, three times the current solar power capacity. The bill includes an extension of investment tax credits and is expected to play an important role in the growth of solar energy in the United States.
Post time: Dec-14-2021