On the 15th of this month, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will provide $56 million in funding to promote the development of the US photovoltaic manufacturing and recycling industry.
Of those funds, $10 million will come from President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law.
The funding provides a missing boost to U.S. PV manufacturing, which currently relies on imports for about 90 percent of the PV panels on the U.S. market.
The U.S. PV industry has struggled due to supply chain issues, the U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Southeast Asian solar cell makers use Chinese-made components that would normally be subject to tariffs, and now Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-WV) has opposed further Expand incentives for PV installations.
In early June, President Biden authorized the Defense Production Act to stimulate domestic photovoltaic manufacturing in the United States. He also announced a two-year moratorium on tariffs on solar panels in Southeast Asia, allowing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) investigation to continue while avoiding an investigation that would bring the U.S. PV industry to a standstill due to a shortage.
The $56 million in financing in this tranche will be divided into two main categories:
· $29 million in fiscal 2022 photovoltaic (PV) research and development funding to support programs that increase the reuse and recycling of photovoltaic technology. The funding will also support projects to develop photovoltaic module designs that reduce manufacturing costs, as well as projects to facilitate the manufacture of perovskites-based photovoltaic cells.
· $27 million for fiscal 2022 PV manufacturing program incubation aimed at commercializing new technologies that can expand private investment in U.S. PV manufacturing. This includes boosting production of photovoltaic panels made from cadmium telluride, which do not rely on photovoltaic-grade polysilicon, a raw material made mainly in China.
Garrett Nilsen, acting director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Photovoltaic Technology, said: "It is necessary for the United States to take steps to ensure that the United States can produce the equipment it needs itself as much as possible. Not just to achieve decarbonization goals, but just to ensure that the U.S. will stay as far as possible from any other disruptions to global trade chains that may occur.
In addition, the Biden administration has approved a 125-mile (200-kilometer) 10 West link transmission line between Tonopah, Arizona, and Blythe, California. The line will support the development of photovoltaic projects in the American Southwest.