SEIA: U.S. solar industry sees worst quarter since 2020

A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reports the first quarter of 2022 was the lowest quarter of installations for the U.S. solar industry since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the report, Q1 2022 saw price increases and supply chain constraints that suppressed the solar market resulting in 24 percent less solar capacity than in Q1 2021.

Still, the report said that recent action from the Biden administration might help accelerate delayed projects.

“The solar industry is facing multiple challenges that are slowing America’s clean energy progress, but this week’s action from the Biden administration provides a jolt of certainty businesses need to keep projects moving and create jobs,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “President Biden has clearly taken notice of how drags on the industry are hampering grid resiliency. By acting decisively, this administration is breathing new life into the clean energy sector while positioning the U.S. to be a global solar manufacturing leader.”

The White House announced this week that it would provide a two-year suspension of any new tariffs for two years on solar panel imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. SEIA said that without that action, the industry faced massive project delays and cancellations throughout 2022.

The White House’s announcement came in response to a U.S. Department of Commerce investigation into anti-circumvention allegations. Since the case was initiated in March, most solar module manufacturers have halted U.S. shipments, SEIA said, causing an industry-wide shortage. The supply constraints, the organization said, are expected to ease as manufacturers ramp up U.S. shipments in the coming months.

Previous forecasts have been cut in half due to continued supply chain challenges and the Commerce Department’s investigation.