Since the Biden administration enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (LRI) in 2022, leading global solar manufacturers have significantly increased investment in the United States to remain competitive both locally and internationally.
Big investments, big hopes
Trina Solar recently committed a $200 million investment to build a solar manufacturing facility in Wilmer, Texas. With a planned capacity of 5 GW and polysilicon from the US and Europe, this facility promises to create 1,500 local jobs and is expected to begin operations in 2024.
CSI Solar. For its part, it has committed more than $250 million to a plant in Mesquite, Texas. This 5 GW capacity plant will begin production at the end of 2023 and create around 1,500 specialized jobs in the solar sector.
Strategic partners and expansion
In a collaborative strategy LONG has partnered with US clean energy developer Invenergy to build a 5GW plant in Ohio. This alliance, whose construction began in April, will result in the creation of at least 850 jobs and hopes to begin operations by the end of this year.
JinkoSolar With a vision to improve and expand its operations, the company invested nearly $81 million in a new facility in Jacksonville, Florida. This plant, which is an expansion of the previous 400 MW factory built in 2018, will have an annual output of 1 GW.
Finally, YES solar began 2023 by announcing a $60 million investment in Phoenix, Arizona. The new 2 GW production line is expected to be operational by the end of 2023 and create more than 600 jobs.
Goals and perspectives
The main purpose of the LRI in the context of the solar industry is to boost solar panel manufacturing in the US and strengthen the supply chain to reduce dependence on Chinese components. What’s notable is that the majority of these investments come from China’s leading solar companies. The impact of these investments on U.S. and global solar supply chains, as well as their impact on the growth of these companies, will be a topic to watch in the coming years.
