Building out a U.S. solar supply chain

Catalyst · 22 Jun 2023 · 44m

What this episode covers

Ethan Zindler, head of Americas at BloombergNEF, discusses the complex state of the U.S. solar industry, highlighting the massive tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act's manufacturing and project incentives alongside persistent bottlenecks like interconnection queues and transformer shortages. He details the saga of tariffs on Southeast Asian solar imports, noting the White House's suspension of punitive duties until late 2024, and explains how global supply chain pressures have eased, driving module prices down to around 20 cents per watt. Zindler argues that while U.S. manufacturing incentives are generous, the primary constraint on reaching the REPEAT Project's target of 100 gigawatts of annual installation is grid interconnection, not cost, as domestic production struggles to compete with low-cost, innovative manufacturing in Southeast Asia.

Mentioned

Companies
BloombergNEF, First Solar, Oxen Solar, Energy Hub, Bloom Energy
Also
Inflation Reduction Act, REPEAT Project

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