Ryan Regan

Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine roiled global energy markets, forcing fossil fuel prices up, and helped cement energy security as a dominant policy area focus in Europe and beyond. These trends and the continued price competitiveness of renewable energy are combining to boost global solar and wind capacity to historic heights.

California has long been the state where the solar industry has shined the brightest across residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets. That fact largely remains true today, but Texas is emerging as an ascendant solar energy powerhouse that is poised to give a major lift to national renewable energy generation goals. Texas Solar Capacity Hits Peak In 2022, Texas led the country in the amount of solar capacity added to the grid for the first time in history.

Manufacturers of solar panels, inverters, and related solar energy components have overwhelmingly been based in China over recent decades as few countries around the World could compete with China’s combined natural resource and low-cost manufacturing advantages. While China’s supply chain stranglehold is likely to persistent for some time, recently announced investments by solar manufacturers in the U.S. show the benefits accruing from last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).