US solar module production capacity reaches 50+ GW, The US solar manufacturing industry just hit a historic milestone
Source: 1oneplus
US solar module production capacity reaches 50+ GW, The US solar manufacturing industry just hit a historic milestone
Source: 1oneplus
2 Comments
Should have been 200 GW 5 years ago.
For those who aren’t familiar, solar *cell* manufacturing is large scale semiconductor fabrication- ultra high tech. *Module* manufacturing is to put the cell in a box and connect wires to it. The cells are fragile, and they have to last for twenty years exposed to weather, so there is a bit more tech than the one sentence summary implies. [Module assembly costs more than the ultra high tech cell fabrication](https://www.nrel.gov/solar/market-research-analysis/solar-manufacturing-cost.html), if the cost of making silicon out of silica rock is excluded.
Module assembly has a larger supply chain. It requires large amounts of glass, aluminum, and wiring.