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This yr’s abrupt shift in federal power coverage has thrown a monkey wrench into the US photo voltaic business over the brief time period, however key stakeholders proceed to plan forward for a clear power future. Among the many current highlights are Illuminate USA’s new 5-year, 15-gigawatt photo voltaic glass deal and a key step for the US agency Highland Supplies, which plans to construct a brand new $1 billion polysilicon manufacturing facility in Tennessee.
The US Photo voltaic Trade & Tennessee
Should you’re questioning why Tennessee is on Highland’s radar, that’s a superb query. The persistently crimson state ranks a lowly #36 in a state-by-state rating of put in photo voltaic producing capability into Q1 of this yr. Final yr’s efficiency was much more dismal. As tracked by the US commerce group Photo voltaic Vitality Industries Affiliation, Tennessee registered down at #50 for brand new photo voltaic capability additions in 2024.
The manufacturing aspect tells is a extra spectacular story. As of Q1, SEIA recorded 32 photo voltaic producers in Tennessee. Total the state’s photo voltaic business accounts for five,199 photo voltaic jobs together with builders and installers together with producers.
Tennessee’s Secret Nuclear Weapon
Tennessee additionally has the Phipps Bend Superior Manufacturing & Know-how Campus in its campus. The positioning is ideally fitted to Highland and different superior producers in search of top quality energy infrastructure.
Phipps Bend has fairly a historical past. The positioning was initially developed by the Tennessee Valley Authority for nuclear power again within the Nineteen Seventies, however the mission was canceled on the heels of a virtually catastrophic meltdown on the Three Mile Island nuclear energy plant in Pennsylvania.
The Three Mile Island incident occurred in 1979, giving all the nuclear business the jitters for years to come back. Within the meantime, TVA had already funneled $2.6 billion in federal {dollars} to arrange the Phipps Bend web site for nuclear energy.
“Whereas no reactors had been ever introduced on-line, the positioning retains a robust legacy: important utility infrastructure, a strategic location inside the TVA transmission community, and a regional growth mindset rooted in energy-intensive business,” explains Pivotal Manufacturing Companions, the corporate that organized for Highland to occupy a part of the Phipps Bend web site as an anchor tenant.
Highlands is only for starters. PMP describes the 140-acre Phipps Bend web site as a “high-power, heavy infrastructure vacation spot designed to help mission vital operators requiring scale, high-power infrastructure, versatile zoning, and streamlined execution.”
“The campus gives direct on-site entry to a significant TVA-owned regional transmission interconnect, the first regional energy distribution hub for Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, PMP provides.
Extra Indicators Of Life For The US Photo voltaic Trade
Tennessee can also be the headquarters of the up-and-coming international photo voltaic business stakeholder Shoals Applied sciences Group, which makes a speciality of electrical balance-of-systems together with power storage. Whereas persevering with to increase its international footprint, in March Shoals reminded everybody that its US enterprise continues to develop alongside its ongoing relationship with the US photo voltaic producer First Photo voltaic.
“First Photo voltaic’s further 3.5 GW of photo voltaic manufacturing facility, mixed with their current U.S. manufacturing footprint, is supported partially by Shoals’ customized junction bins, manufactured in Alabama,” Shoals explains, referring to the launch of a brand new $1.1 billion First Photo voltaic Manufacturing unit in Alabama final fall.
To not be outdone, Illuminate USA has additionally signaled its confidence within the photo voltaic business’s capacity to climate a brief reversal in federal power coverage. On August 8, the corporate, which describes itself as the biggest single-site photo voltaic producer in North America, signed an settlement with the Georgia-based photo voltaic panel recycling agency Solarcycle to nail down sufficient photo voltaic glass to help 3 gigawatts of photo voltaic panel manufacturing annually for the following 5 years on the Illuminate manufacturing unit in Ohio.
Solarcycle additionally drew consideration to the long run outlook in a press assertion final week. “This settlement is a significant sign to the market about the way forward for photo voltaic manufacturing within the U.S.,” stated Solarcycle CEO and co-founder Suvi Sharma.
“Regardless of some difficult coverage headwinds, there’s nonetheless important market demand for high-quality, domestically manufactured supplies that help U.S. photo voltaic manufacturing. We’re proud to welcome Illuminate USA as our anchor buyer for the first-of-its-kind American photo voltaic glass manufacturing unit,” Sharma added.
The market intelligence platform IndexBox is amongst these monitoring photo voltaic business exercise within the US following passage of the brand new “OBBA” tax invoice. “Regardless of preliminary issues, the photo voltaic business has proven resilience, pushed by sturdy demand and favorable OBBBA provisions supporting home manufacturing,” citing the California-based agency SolarEdge together with First Photo voltaic among the many post-OBBA highlights.
One other agency to control is T1 Vitality, a photo voltaic cell producer that rose from the ashes of an ill-fated battery enterprise in Georgia. T1 is shifting ahead with plans for a 5-gigawatt addition to the US photo voltaic business roster, to be situated in Texas. Plans for the $850 million so-named G2_Austin facility had been initially introduced in November of 2024 and confirmed in March of this yr.
On June 16 T1 re-confirmed the plan, having chosen a contractor and acquired a long run tax abatement package deal from Milan County. “The mission is enabled by the Trump Administration’s tariffs and different insurance policies supporting American superior manufacturing, jobs and power dominance,” T1 noticed.
“G2_Austin is a key a part of T1’s technique to construct a home photo voltaic and battery provide chain to offer America with scalable, dependable and low-cost power. Together with the Firm’s totally operational G1_Dallas 5 GW Photo voltaic Module Facility, T1 plans to deal with unmet buyer demand for U.S. photo voltaic cells and modules utilizing TOPCon know-how,” T1 added, referring to next-generation photo voltaic cells that reduce power loss.
First The US Photo voltaic Trade, Tomorrow The EV Revolution…And Offshore Wind?
In different indicators that cracks are already starting to point out within the anti-decarbonization motion, on July 29, Common Motors reminded everybody that it’s going to quickly restart manufacturing of its common Chevy Bolt. Billed as an inexpensive EV with a goal value round $30,000, the Bolt will function low value LFP batteries.
Lower than two weeks later, on August 11, Ford unveiled plans for a full lineup of inexpensive electrical passenger automobiles, pickup vans, and vans, additionally deploying LFP batteries.
One other fascinating trace of issues to come back includes the US offshore wind business. Though the federal offshore wind lease program has been dismantled, the main Danish power agency Ørsted is amongst these anticipating that the items will ultimately be put again collectively once more. At the least, so the corporate hopes. Ørsted has acknowledged that it’s unable to divest itself from the mission, so it’s plunging forward. The information group offshoreWINDbiz is amongst these reporting that Ørsted goals to lift about $9.33 billion to finish the development of the 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind mission off the New York coast.
Maintain on to your hats…
Picture: The US photo voltaic producer Illuminate is among the many photo voltaic business stakeholders anticipating a wholesome outlook for renewable power over the long run (courtesy of Illuminate).
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