America enters a new era of energy dominance

OPINION:

In an ever-changing geopolitical landscape, there is broad consensus that the United States needs to establish true American energy independence. It’s no secret that the United States relies on other countries to meet our energy needs, but this has affected our ability to control our destiny and compete on the world stage.

Fortunately, the momentum is shifting, and homegrown solar power is leading the way towards energy independence. The solar investments we’re making today are already positioning the United States to be a global clean energy leader.

Solar is now one of the fastest-growing energy sources in the world. This year alone, the U.S. solar industry is on target to add a record-breaking 32 gigawatts of new solar capacity to the grid in 2023 — which is 50% more than it added last year.

But this dramatic upswing did not happen in a vacuum. It is the product of pro-business, pro-growth incentive policies that went into effect last year and have fueled an unprecedented surge in demand for solar energy across the country.

These incentives work with businesses to drive demand and encourage private investment to add clean, domestically generated power to the energy mix. Over the last year, U.S. solar and storage companies announced more than $100 billion in new solar and storage investments, making it clear these policies are fueling a massive clean energy boom that will help us produce more homegrown power and improve American competitiveness across the globe.

And this initial growth is just the beginning.

Over the next decade, the solar industry will add over $565 billion to the economy and create over 200,000 well-paying careers across the country.

The transformation is already having a major impact on our supply chain. Thanks to the new incentives, America has unleashed a powerful manufacturing renaissance that will dramatically improve the country’s capacity to make solar materials and products on American soil. Just one year in, these commonsense policies have done more for American solar manufacturing than any initiative or policy in the last decade.

Nationwide, the private sector has rushed to invest in domestic manufacturing, resulting in 59 facility announcements.

These manufacturing gains are already going to work for our economy. Businesses across the country are greenlighting new facilities, planning expansions, onshoring jobs, and hiring new workers every day.

Manufacturing is also the largest jobs multiplier of any market segment. Manufacturing jobs are expected to triple over the next decade — growing from about 35,000 solar manufacturing jobs today to more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs by 2033. These are great career opportunities that are also helping us create pathways to business ownership and build an energy future that uplifts all communities and people.

Every factory job also creates employment opportunities in other sectors, such as sales and purchasing, marketing, finance and accounting, human resources, warehousing and logistics, and more. With more well-paying manufacturing careers here at home instead of overseas, the United States can revitalize long dormant industrial communities, particularly in rural areas that are waiting for the resurgence of American manufacturing.

These new manufacturing facilities will serve as the foundation of true American energy independence and security for the future.

More U.S.-made products in the supply chain will protect the industry from geopolitical instability and ensure every component used to build a solar energy system has the country’s best interests at heart. No one can limit our access to the sun, and as the domestic solar supply chain strengthens, the United States will be able to become a net exporter of American-made solar products, increasing the country’s energy dominance around the world.

It’s in our national interest to diversify our energy sources and reduce our reliance on other countries to power our lives. Whether it’s solar panels on a family’s home or a large-scale solar farm that keeps the lights on for communities, every American solar installation that comes online makes the U.S. grid, stronger, more reliable, and more secure.

We are expanding our domestic energy mix while also insulating American families and businesses from the volatile price shifts and supply shortfalls of global markets.

If we are serious about achieving true energy security, solar energy is one of the best options we have. We are well on our way to onshoring the solar and storage supply chain and positioning the United States as a global clean energy leader. The more solar and storage the United States deploys, the safer and more competitive America will be.

To stay on this path and achieve energy dominance, we need leaders at all levels of government to maintain the pro-business solar policies that are powering local economies and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the communities that need them most. Solar and storage are our best shot to ensure the United States can control its own energy future and destiny in a volatile world.