Trade,Technology & Manufacturing
The solar industry develops cutting-edge technology and is part of a fast-growing global marketplace. The global trade and environmental impacts of these technologies are a key focus at SEIA, along with efforts to ramp up and build a robust solar supply chain here at home, increasing domestic manufacturing capacity and U.S. jobs.
Solar Energy Overview
Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. The U.S. solar market is growing rapidly as the industry scales up new innovative technologies and drives down manufacturing and installation costs. There are several ways to harness solar energy: photovoltaics, solar heating & cooling, concentrating solar power, and passive solar.
Domestic Manufacturing
There are multiple benefits to growing domestic renewable energy manufacturing, including creating jobs, spurring economic development, promoting U.S. leadership in advanced technologies and innovation, and ensuring an ethical and sustainable solar supply chain. Manufacturing investment also presents an opportunity for cost reduction and can also enable the U.S. to accelerate deployment and meet long-term climate goals.
International Trade
SEIA supports fair and free trade of solar equipment to grow the American solar industry, which is strengthening our national security and driving local and national economic growth.
Solar + Storage
Storage is playing a revolutionary role in the further advancement of solar. States with higher storage penetrations will lead an unmistakable trend in the solar industry.
Cybersecurity
Solar and storage technologies play a critical role in ensuring U.S. energy independence and national security. Cybersecurity has become a top priority for the industry as clean energy is deployed on the grid in record-breaking numbers every year. SEIA is collaborating with industry stakeholders and security experts to prepare for domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats to ensure that solar and storage remain reliable and safe energy resources as we transition to a clean energy economy.
Related News
American Solar Panel Manufacturing Capacity Increases 71% in Q1 2024 as Industry Reaches 200-Gigawatt Milestone
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A record-setting 11 gigawatts (GW) of new solar module manufacturing capacity came online in the United States during Q1 2024, the largest quarter of solar manufacturing growth in American history. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2024 report released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, total U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity now exceeds 26 GW annually.
SEIA Statement on Biden Administration’s Solar Manufacturing Policy Announcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Biden administration announced new trade measures and policy guidance intended to support America’s clean energy industry and uplift domestic manufacturers.
SEIA Statement on Biden Administration’s Action to Support American Clean Energy Manufacturing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Biden administration announced the results of its statutorily-mandated review of the Section 301 tariffs on China.