From the magazine
To anyone who knows about US solar manufacturing, Elon Musk’s claim that SpaceX and Tesla are working to build 100 GW of annual PV manufacturing capacity might seem unachievable.
As 2025 came to a close, experts from Intertek CEA estimated the total manufacturing capacity of solar module facilities in the United States to be slightly greater than 45 GW, moving to around 60 GW this year. The company’s Q4 2025 PV Supply, Technology, and Policy Report noted that its analysts expect an additional 16 GW to 20 GW of planned capacity to be constructed by early 2027.
The scale of Musk’s ambition, as outlined at Davos, is to build potentially two times more US module manufacturing capacity than currently exists, and cells as well, in just three years. Some might say that seems far-fetched, yet the domestic need for new power generation matches Musk’s estimates for what his companies can accomplish in the near term.
A 2025 study published by the American Clean Power Association estimated the United States would require more than 900 GW of new renewable generation capacity by 2040 to meet the increased energy demand from data centers and electrification of heating and transportation. Most new generation was expected to come from solar, with 647 GW forecast over a 15-year period.
