By Nicole Jao
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. solar industry will experience modest growth in 2024, as electricity prices decline and support from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rolls in, SolarEdge Chief Financial Officer Ronen Faier said on Thursday.
“We’ve bottomed in the last two quarters,” Faier told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference in Miami, Florida. Macroeconomic uncertainties in the back half of the year weighed on demand for solar products in the United States, he added.
The solar product manufacturer sees demand improving with expectations for lower interest rates this year.
Incentives from the IRA in top solar markets like California are also beginning to improve the economics and prices of solar products and components, said Faier.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury in December unveiled proposed guidelines for manufacturers of clean-energy products seeking to claim a tax credit, created under the IRA, in a bid to power the energy transition with American-made products.
Battery installation is also expected to continue to grow in both the U.S. and European markets, Faier said, as manufacturers clear out large inventories of battery panels and other equipment.
(Reporting by Nicole Jao; Editing by Aurora Ellis)