Solar & Storage Finance USA

In 2023, a pivotal year is on the horizon for the solar and storage industries, coinciding with Solar Media’s landmark 10th edition finance summit.

The previous year witnessed the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which consolidates approximately $370 billion in federal funding over the next decade to facilitate the clean energy transition in the United States. The IRA has already had a profound impact on the long-term prospects of the solar and storage sectors.

Significant funding is still accessible for large-scale energy infrastructure through the Department of Energy’s $40 billion loans program. Furthermore, the IRA is expected to attract an additional $600 billion in new investments, resulting in an extra 222 gigawatts of solar installations over the next ten years. This surge in solar capacity will generate sufficient electricity to power an additional 165 million households in the United States.

The story is analogous for energy storage, as the U.S. government has elevated investment tax credits to 30% for standalone energy systems. Projections indicate that an additional 20.8 gigawatts of utility-scale battery storage will become operational by 2025. Currently, ten states have set specific procurement targets for energy storage, and this list is poised to expand. The host state of this year’s summit, New York, is expected to incentivize the integration of an extra 5 gigawatts of residential, commercial, and utility-scale storage into the grid.

However, challenges persist as the industry grapples with deciphering the updated tax credit structures, navigating the obstacles posed by the current inflationary economic climate, and adhering to project timelines.