IRA Attracts Up To 9,300 MW of New Domestic Solar Manufacturing Capacity

IRA attracting domestic investment in solar panel manuf'g, w/Enel and First Solar adding 9,300 MW of U.S. manuf’g capacity; Pattern Energy gets OK from AZ for 550-mile, 3,000 MW HVDC transmission line from central NM to south central AZ; Nuscale's SMR nuke pricing of 1st contract jumps from $58/MWh, to up to $90 - $100/MWh, owing to supply chain & inflation pressures; Biden admin to release $350 mn for 11 long-duration storage demo projects of 10+ hours; Volvo Trucks’ heavy-duty electric 44-ton trucks including parts made of fossil-free steel; VW sells 500,000th EV; Volvo joins w/Pilot to build charging network for medium/heavy duty electric trucks at Pilot and Flying J travel centers; CA PUC announces $1 bn for state's EV charging network, w/ focus on medium/heavy-duty vehicles & multi-unit family dwellings; Royal Schiphol Group to install 10,000 EV charging stations at Dutch airports by 2030; Panasonic in multi $bn deal to buy recycled battery materials for Kansas gigafactory from Redwood Materials, starting 2025.

1) Inflation Reduction Act enticing major investments in U.S. solar plants, w/ Enel planing on up to 6,000 MW of bifacial heterojunction PV manufacturing in US starting first half of 2023, and First Solar w/ add’l 3,300 MW of new thin film plant capacity.

2) Pattern Energy gets OK from AZ regulators for 550-mile, 525 kV HVDC SunZia transmission line for 3,000 MW of wind energy from Central NM to South Central AZ.

3) Price tag for Nuscale's 1st US SMR nuclear contract w/Utah Associated Muni Power Systems increasing from $58/MWh to as much $90-$100/MWh, a result of increased steel costs and inflation.

4) Biden Admin offers $350 mn to support 11 long-duration (10+ hours) storage demo projects.

5) Volvo Trucks new electric 44 ton trucks are the first trucks in world to have parts made from fossil free steel, made by Sweden’s SSAB using hydrogen-based Direct Reduction technology.

6) VW notches 500,000 sales of ID brand of EVs.

7) Volvo and Pilot roll out plans for U.S. high-performance public charging network for medium/heavy duty electric trucks at Pilot and Flying J Travel centers.

8) CA PUC unveils five-yr, $1 bn plan to build EV charging network for medium/heavy-duty trucks as well as multi-unit family dwellings.

9) Royal Schiphol Group to install 10,000 EV charging stations at Netherlands airports by 2030.

10) Panasonic will buy re-manufactured battery cathode materials from battery recycler Redwood Materials for Kansas Gigafactory as in multi $bn deal, starting 2025.

Peter Kelly-Detwiler