The past year in solar power was shrouded in uncertainty around the presidential election and continued trade and market struggles, but it also featured some major domestic manufacturing and legislative wins. Updates on IRA rules, from domestic content to manufacturing credits, kept the industry moving toward the Biden Administration’s clean energy goals. Antidumping and countervailing tariff cases, along with residential solar product manufacturing woes, remained in the headlines too.

Below are the Top 10 most-read stories from Solar Power World in 2024. Stay connected as we move into 2025 by following SPW on LinkedIn and subscribing to our weekly enewsletter.

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Q&A: What you need to know about the switch to Smart Solar Billing in Illinois

Illinois is phasing out full retail net metering and transitioning to a new solar incentive structure called Smart Solar Billing on January 1, 2025. Solar Power World talked to national residential installer Sunrun’s VP of policy to learn more about this change, and how it compares to the highly contested California switch to NEM 3.0.

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Massachusetts governor signs new climate bill that includes siting, permitting reform

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill that prioritizes clean energy siting and permitting, clean energy procurement and net crediting for community solar into law. The climate bill was the result of significant pressure from environmental justice and clean energy advocates following the failed passage of major climate reforms months prior.

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1.2-GW solar panel assembly facility to open in Puerto Rico

A contract solar panel assembly facility will soon open in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, that will supply the utility-scale market on the island and hopefully the greater market on the U.S. mainland. Solx intends to open its 1.2-GW panel production facility in April 2025.

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Commerce reveals antidumping tariff rates on Southeast Asian solar panels

Following the Dept. of Commerce’s preliminary decision to impose countervailing duties (CVD) on silicon solar cell imports from Southeast Asia, the federal government announced it preliminarily decided to enforce antidumping (AD) tariffs as well.

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Treasury releases final rules for 45X domestic manufacturing tax credits

The Dept. of the Treasury and the IRS in October released final rules for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (Section 45X of the Internal Revenue Code), to spur continued growth of U.S. clean energy manufacturing as part of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ Investing in America Agenda.

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Congress begins process to block 45X advanced manufacturing tax credit

Just a few weeks after elections in the United States, two new congressmen attached their names to legislation that would prevent Chinese companies from accessing credits available in the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Corning will make solar wafers in Michigan

Hemlock Semiconductor and parent company Corning are taking advantage of tax credits established by the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act to increase their involvement in the solar manufacturing market.

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FREYR buys Trina solar panel factory in Texas for $340 million

FREYR Battery, a Norwegian developer of battery cells, is getting into solar panel manufacturing after announcing it will acquire the U.S. manufacturing operations of Trina Solar. The company will take control of Trina’s 5-GW solar panel assembly facility in Wilmer, Texas.

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SolarEdge closes energy storage division

Power electronics giant SolarEdge announced in November it will shut down manufacturing of utility-scale lithium-ion battery cells for battery energy storage solutions. This will result in the loss of 500 jobs, mostly in South Korea.

Also check out the 10 stories you should have read this year, chosen by the editors.

Solar Power World’s top stories of 2024

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