After several decades of on-again, off-again growth spurts, solar energy is maturing in the United States. That’s good news for domestic manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and solar panels. In fact, during the past two years, at least a dozen companies have launched or announced new assembly plants in different parts of the country.
More solar capacity was added to the grid in 2019 than any other energy source. The United States now has more than 77 gigawatts of PV capacity installed, which is approximately 3 percent of all electricity generation. And, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), 40 percent of all new electric generating capacity additions in the U.S. are now sun powered.