U.S. solar installations fell 16% in 2022 compared to the year prior, a drop caused largely by trade disputes and enforcement of new human rights protections that throttled supply chains.
Even so, the U.S. added 20.2 GW of new capacity, according to a report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. Utility-scale installations fell the most, declining 31% year-over-year to 11.8 GW. That was the sector’s lowest total since before the pandemic. Commercial and community solar installations also fell by 6% and 16%, respectively.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie project that the industry would recover “across all market segments” in 2023 and 2024.
The solar industry faced unprecedented uncertainty for much of 2022 due to the Department of Commerce’s still-open investigation into whether modules imported from Southeast Asia were circumventing duties against manufacturers in China.
Commerce issued a preliminary determination in December that found some manufacturers were circumventing Am
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