Domestic production of solar panels (mostly now made in Asia) can speed up U.S. decarbonization and reduce climate change faster. Manufacturing crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels here solves logistical challenges. If panel manufacturing can return here by 2035, the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from panel creation would be reduced by 30% and energy consumption cut by 13%, compared to 2020, when we relied almost entirely on international trading partners. By 2050, solar panels made and used here will be more efficient and reduce the carbon footprint by 33% and use 17% less energy than solar panels sourced globally in 2020. Considering that the solar panel industry will grow by a factor of over 10 until mid-century, those emission savings could be quite significant.
news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/03/returning-solar-panel-production-us-eases-climate-change