6 billion dollars for what?

Since the pandemic began, companies have struggled to purchase solar panels for large projects like power plants. Why? The global supply chain has experienced major disruptions as well as large tariffs that have driven up costs. If this issue continues, Asia- which supplies most U.S. projects- would make solar energy more expensive and less accessible. How are we fixing this? $6 billion is a great start.

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A group called The U.S. Solar Buyer Consortium is investing $6 billion dollars into domestic manufacturers that can supply an additional 7 gigawatts of panels by 2024. This money will help build the nation’s struggling panel-making industry and keep solar prices competitive with fossil fuels. The Consortium includes US solar development companies like AES Corp., Clearway Energy Group, Cypress Creek Renewables, and DE Shaw Renewable Investments.

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The 7 gigawatts of solar modules created per year from this investment could power nearly 1.3 million homes. That is a huge step in the right direction for Administration's goal to enable more than 3.3 million homes to switch to clean solar energy each year.

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“I think we have to play a big role in this energy independence and security for the U.S." - Leonardo Moreno, President, AES Clean Energy. Considering the Consortium, put together by AES under his direction, is offering to buy more than a quarter of what the U.S. installed last year- annually- speaks shows that he’s ready to put his money where his mouth is.

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"With our large and growing pipeline of solar projects, AES is fully committed to accelerating America's transition to clean energy," said Andrés Gluski, CEO, AES Clean Energy. "Today, some of America's top solar developers have come together to do our part to help attract investments into US solar manufacturing. It is crucial, however, that the US Government creates a realistic, long-term policy framework that supports onshoring more of our solar panel supply chain without unnecessarily disrupting the growth and success of our sector."

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With over $6 billion dollars and clean energy policies on their side, this movement by Consortium is giving the US solar industry an opportunity to provide 40 percent of the nation's energy and employ as many as 1.5 million people in high-quality jobs by 2035.  

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What does this $6 billion dollar investment do for you? As more money is put behind the domestic market, prices for imported panels will become more competitive. We can also assume that more policies will be put in place to further promote home switching to solar energy.

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Even though the future of some markets is unclear, solar’s future is looking bright- very bright. Want to learn more about your future with solar? Talk with one of our experts today.

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