US solar players have hailed the country’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by President Joe Biden this week, as a once-in-a-generation legislation that lays the groundwork for accelerated PV deployment and a significant ramp-up in domestic manufacturing.
The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The largest climate package in US history will now move to the desk of President Joe Biden, where it is expected to be signed into law as early as today.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes US$369 billion in energy security and climate change programmes over the next ten years, passed in the US Senate on Sunday, paving the way for its movement to the House of Representatives and subsequent signing by President Joe Biden.
Manufacturing support for solar components and clean energy tax credits are included in a proposed US budget reconciliation bill from Senate Democrats that proponents have said features the biggest climate and renewables investment in the country’s history.
Dozens of major corporate entities in the US have joined renewable energy organisations in demanding greater action on the Biden administrations’ budget reconciliation package for clean energy and manufacturing as Congress returns from recess.
US solar deployment reached a record high in 2021, but with volatile commodity prices and supply chain uncertainty leading to project delays and cancellations, utility-scale additions are set to contract this year.
Leading US solar installer Sunrun installed 792MW of solar capacity in 2021, a 31% growth on 2020, exceeding guidance, reflecting the highest growth rate in five years and bringing its total networked capacity to 4.7GW, according to its Q4 and full year 2021 financial results.
The Biden administration is said to be considering making bifacial panels exempt from extended Section 201 tariffs on solar imports, according to unconfirmed reports.
Proposed changes to California’s net metering (NEM) incentive programme will severely reduce residential PV’s value proposition in the state, cutting its solar market in half by 2024, Wood Mackenzie has warned.
US President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act, which contains a plethora of policy mechanisms in support of solar and energy storage, would appear to still be at a deadlock after Democrat Senator Joe Manchin said there were “no negotiations going on”.
