U.S. Reaches Historic Solar Module Production Capacity

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. now has more than 50 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar module-manufacturing capacity, which, at full capacity, is enough to meet all demand for solar power in the U.S., according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

However, this comes at a time when President Donald Trump's administration is prioritizing fossil fuels over renewables. Still, Industrial Info is tracking more than $18 billion worth of active and planned projects for the manufacturing of solar panels and cells within the U.S.

"Reaching 50 GW of domestic solar manufacturing capacity is a testament to what we can achieve with smart, business-friendly public policies in place," said Abigail Ross Hopper, the chief executive officer of the SEIA. "The U.S. is now the third-largest module producer in the world because of these policy actions."

Meanwhile, according to the SEIA's Supply Chain Dashboard, companies have announced plans for 56 GW of new U.S. solar cell production.

The highest-valued solar-manufacturing project underway in the U.S. is expected to be fully operational in 2025: Hanwha Qcells Company's $2 billion solar photovoltaic (PV) module plant in Cartersville, Georgia. The plant is designed to produce 3.3 GW of modules per year for domestic and global markets when running at full capacity. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a $1.45 loan guarantee for the project in December, although the Trump administration has stated it plans to review governmental funding pledged under the previous administration's clean-energy agenda. Hanwha Qcells is a subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions (Seoul, South Korea).

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

Also underway is First Solar Incorporated's (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) $1.1 billion solar module manufacturing plant under construction in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. With a nameplate manufacturing capacity of 3.5 GW, the plant will exclusively produce the company's utility-scale Series 7 PV panels. In the company's third-quarter earnings conference call in October, Chief Executive Officer Mike Widmar said the plant remains on track to begin operations in the second half of the year. He added this will keep the company on its path to produce more than 14 GW of annual U.S. nameplate capacity by 2026.

Click here to read a detailed project report.

Boviet Solar USA (San Jose, California), a subsidiary of Ningbo Boway Alloy Material Company Limited (Ningbo, China), is building a two-phase manufacturing plant in Greenville, North Carolina, designed for both solar modules and cells. In October, Boviet said it expected the start of mass module production (Phase I) would begin by "early H1 2025," and in November announced the groundbreaking of the solar cell facility (Phase 2), which is "set to begin production by mid-2026." Subscribers can read more information on the module and cell projects.

"The completed facilities will produce 2 GW of solar modules and 2 GW of solar cells annually, significantly contributing to the U.S. solar supply chain and supporting the nation's transition to clean energy, said Sienna Cen, president of Boviet Solar USA, in a press release.

But the Trump administration may threaten the transition.

On February 3, Doug Burgum, the new Secretary of the Department of the Interior, signed the first round of orders designed to support the Trump administration's focus on fossil fuels rather than renewables. Among other things, the orders instruct the department to:

• "immediately identify all emergency and legal authorities available to facilitate the identification, permitting, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, distribution, exporting and generation of domestic energy resources and critical minerals
• "identify all emergency and other legal authorities available to expedite the completion of all authorized and appropriate infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects;" and
• conduct a "review of all appropriations from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to ensure consistency with President Trump's energy dominance policies."

Industrial Info is keeping an eye on the Trump administration's energy agenda. For more information, see February 10, 2025, article - Executive Orders Stoke Confusion for U.S. Renewables, January 20, 2025, article - Senate Panel Lavishes Praise on Interior Secretary Nominee and February 7, 2025, article - U.S. Energy Department Measure Opposes Net-Zero.

Subscribers to the GMI database can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned projects for the manufacturing of solar panels and cells within the U.S.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).