The U.S. is experiencing a solar energy boom. Utility-scale solar installations are on track to hit 23 GW in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 13 GW in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2024, another 36 GW is expected to come online. Annual growth in the solar industry over the next five years is expected to be 15% on average. To match this growing demand, solar module imports reached 24.4 GW through the first half of 2023, compared to 11.4 GW in the first half of 2022.
While the solar industry is growing in the U.S., solar manufacturing has lagged, and most of the supply chain now resides in China. Solar manufacturers and trade groups have raised concerns about foreign solar manufacturing. The situation has brought up arguments that over-reliance on Chinese clean energy technology could pose a security risk similar to Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas. A less-concentrated supply chain will be more resilient and bypass companies using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It may also emit less carbon—a study published in Nature in March 2023 found that reshoring all silicon photovoltaic manufacturing to the U.S. by 2035 would reduce estimated greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and energy consumption by 13%, compared to 2020. However, building up a domestic supply chain in the U.S. will not be easy and will necessitate more government help at the federal and state levels.