Built in America: Transforming the U.S. Clean Energy Supply Chain

One of the cornerstones of the Biden administration’s strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 is to fully decarbonize U.S. electricity generation by 2035. In 2023, renewables, including solar, wind and hydropower, accounted for about 25 percent of the electricity generated in America.

Closing that gap requires simultaneous progress in multiple areas, including streamlining and speeding interconnection and permitting, expanding transmission capacity, and building a large and skilled workforce. Importantly, it also demands a rapid and large-scale buildout of its domestic manufacturing capacity.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides both domestic manufacturing incentives, including the $10 billion Advanced Energy Project Credit, as well as bonuses for the use of domestic content. These incentives combined with growing demand from the U.S. market have catalyzed significant investment in domestic manufacturing.

This paper explores the progress and challenges of building out a diversified supply chain for solar and energy storage, including:
• The balance of onshoring, nearshoring, and forging alliances
• The solar supply chain
• The battery supply chain