Research indicates U.S. solar manufacturing to rise nearly 50% annually

Despite the recent recessionary trends on the manufacturing industries, manufacturing capacity for solar panels will rise at a rate of 45% each year, from 875 megawatts in 2008 to 3,880 megawatts in 2012, according to GTM Research’s report “PV Manufacturing in the United States: Market Outlook, Incentives and Supply Chain Opportunities.”

The report claims that the U.S. will contain a total of 38 PV (photovoltaic) 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 of which (Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania) are expected to have production in excess of 100 MW by 2012, compared to only three (Ohio, Michigan, Oregon) in 2009.

Control Engineering