The global market for renewables is growing dramatically.
Clean energy investments in Africa are nearly double what they were four years ago, Latin America is expected to double its renewable capacity over the next four years, and 200 nations at COP28 agreed to triple global clean energy capacity by the end of the decade.
The world is racing to build and diversify solar supply chains, support solar businesses, increase solar and storage deployment, and secure clean energy resources on their grids.
However, achieving these results on a global scale requires meaningful collaboration, strong investment, and international leadership.
The United States must lead the global clean energy transition. We must expand, scale, and export U.S. products and technologies to the world.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is on the ground at COP29 connecting with other national and international solar associations, energy officials from around the world, NGOs and other stakeholders committed to growing jobs, manufacturing and deployment across the solar and storage sectors.
COP29 has been dubbed the “Finance COP” because the talks are focused on scaling global climate finance and collaborating on clean energy investment. For SEIA, that means expanding the influence of the United States’ solar sector through strong financial partnerships.
Clean Energy Financing Requires Strong Global Partnerships
With President Donald Trump returning to the White House, we have an opportunity to showcase how policy that supports solar also supports domestic manufacturing, jobs, energy independence, and market growth.
Under pro-business federal clean energy policies, domestic solar manufacturing has quadrupled and is spurring job growth nationwide. If we stay the course with these policies, America’s solar manufacturing workforce will reach 100,000 workers by 2030.
The United States will soon have enough domestic solar panel production to meet our demand for solar deployment, and we are working to bring the bulk of the solar supply chain back to the United States.
But we cannot stop there.
International collaboration will help the United States strengthen its own solar value chain while also opening markets for American businesses.
As SEIA’s president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said at COP29 this week:
“Countries need to have solutions that work for them. But to do that, we need more information sharing. To build these roads of silicone and hubs of manufacturing the global transition requires, we need much more information sharing. We need countries to come together and ask each other, “what is it that you do really well, and what are your assets?”. If we accelerate these conversations about the global value chain, we can accelerate trust and trade — and meet our global goals together.”
SEIA has already formed strategic relationships with clean energy allies like India, Brazil, Germany, Canada, and South Africa. RE+, the premiere clean energy trade conference co-hosted by SEIA, has also recently expanded with new international events in Panama City, Cape Town, and Porto.
These relationships help U.S. companies on both ends of their business model.
International partnerships help American businesses procure raw materials and minerals in a cost-effective way while also opening them up to a new customer base. Collaboration helps us build the efficient supply chains and markets we need to meet rising electricity demand.
Absent American leadership, these partnerships, supply chains, and customers will go elsewhere. Other major economies, like China, are working to dominate global markets and lead the clean energy industries of the 21st century. That’s why it’s incumbent upon the United States to recognize the opportunity cost of changes that might slow down the solar and storage industry’s momentum.
We are optimistic about the COP28 goal to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 because of the expansion of U.S. solar and storage. However, the next five years will determine which countries lead on clean energy and which are left behind.
The U.S. is ready to export the technology, ideas, and industry standards that will help every country meet our global clean energy goals and build a more prosperous, more secure world.
