Despite a recession, manufacturing capacity for solar panels will rise at a rate of 45 percent each year, from 875 megawatts in 2008 to 3,880 megawatts in 2012, according to GTM Research's recently published report "PV Manufacturing in the United States: Market Outlook, Incentives and Supply Chain Opportunities (http://www.gtmresearch.com/report/pv-manufacturing-in-the-unite -st ates-market-outlook-incentives-and-supply) ." Manufacturing capacity for solar cells will exhibit similarly strong growth, rising 50 percent each year from 785 megawatts in 2008 to 4,001 megawatts by the end of 2012. Overall, the U.S.'s share of global solar manufacturing capacity will increase from just 5 percent in 2008 to 14 percent in 2012.
The U.S. will contain a total of 38 PV manufacturing facilities by 2012, compared to 26 at the beginning of 2009. Eighteen states will have some form of manufacturing presence in PV by 2012, ten (Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania) of which are expected to have production in excess of 100 MW by 2012, compared to only three (Ohio, Michigan, Oregon) in 2009.
"The re-emergence of a strong solar manufacturing industry in the U.S. may come as a surprise to some, but it is a direct consequence of expectations by manufacturers of a strong domestic market for solar panels over the next half-decade. Historically, production has tended to follow markets, and this is no exception. With stimulus funds and massive utility deployment expected to drive 1.6 gigawatts in U.S. demand by 2012, domestic, Chinese and European companies are making major investments in solar factories over the next five years, particularly in panel manufacturing," said Shyam Mehta, Senior Analyst at GTM Research and the author of the report. "Adding to the momentum is the bevy of incentives available to manufacturers, most of them established over the last year," Mehta added. Overall, 18 states offer manufacturing incentives for solar manufacturers.
The build-out of domestic solar component production will result in significant job creation potential in states where these plants will be based; the report estimates that as many as 20,000 manufacturing jobs could be created over the next four years. Some of the primary beneficiaries will be Midwestern states, whose cheap power, skilled labor and generous incentives make them extremely attractive locations to base solar manufacturing plants. Mehta names the top ten states to build solar manufacturing facilities:
1. Oregon
2. Michigan
3. Arizona
4. Washington
5. Pennsylvania
6. Ohio
7. New Mexico
8. Texas
9. New York
10. Colorado
Detailed information and intelligence on all current and planned U.S. PV manufacturing facilities, in-depth profiles of the leading U.S.-based PV wafer, cell and module producers, a comprehensive listing of all federal, state, and company-specific subsidies available to PV manufacturers in the U.S., and assessments of the impact of the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on U.S. PV manufacturing activity can be found in the report.
For detailed information on "PV Manufacturing in the United States: Market Outlook, Incentives, and Supply Chain Opportunities," visit http://www.gtmresearch.com/report/pv-manufacturing-in-the-united sta tes-market-outlook-incentives-and-supply (http://www.gtmresearch.com/report/pv-manufacturing-in-the-unite -st ates-market-outlook-incentives-and-supply) .
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