The US is making and deploying more solar panels than ever before
The Inflation Reduction Act has caused solar panel manufacturing capacity to quintuple, revived domestic cell production, and sparked a surge in deployments.
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Better sign those contracts right away. The new administration plans to cancel the Inflation Reduction Act and recapture any unspent funds to pay for the new tax cut.
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The scale of domestic solar growth is incredible. It’s rare to see policy like the Inflation Reduction Act have such immediate impact—quintupling manufacturing capacity is no small feat. What excites me most is the potential for long-term energy independence. If momentum continues, we could finally break free from the supply chain constraints that have plagued the industry for years.
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Photo posted on the internet the other day showed a large solar panel operation destroyed by hail. And some say spent solar panels are difficult to dispose of. You would think they could be ground up and used as agregate in concrete. Some say contaminated with toxics (though some exaggerate the term toxic).
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Oil refineries explode and burn on regular basis. These are more costly and more polluting than solar panels being smashed.
The oil and gas industry is vulnerable to damage from fires, storms, tornadoes, and floods, which can disrupt production, refining, and distribution, leading to supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations. These disasters can damage refineries, pipelines, and drilling rigs, impacting the entire energy sector.
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Ok, but refineries resist hail very well; solar panels apparently don’t.
In the midwest hail is a frequent hazard.
It’s a “higher than average” hazard compared to other parts of the country. But the cost of damage is low, compared to, say, a tornado hitting a refinery, or fuel fed power plant.
A solar farm requires surprisingly little infrastructure compared to a traditional power plant, but it makes up for it by having a larger geographic footprint.
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