Show Notes
Despite the dark cloud of federal policy hanging over the solar industry, skyrocketing load growth is driving demand. The question is whether supply can keep up.
In this episode, Shayle talks to Scott Moskowitz — VP of market strategy and public affairs at Qcells and board chair of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) — about the challenges of reshoring solar in the U.S.
They cover topics like:
How supply chain resilience incentivize reshoring efforts
The specific state of polysilicon, wafers, cells, and module reshoring
Why resource “clustering” has been a boon for Chinese solar manufacturing
Industry challenges around permitting solar
Why American solar remains so much more expensive per watt than Chinese solar
The threat of technological obsolescence to funding solar projects
Resources
Catalyst: More 2026 trends: Solar costs, oil oversupply, and the startup slump
Catalyst: Tumult in residential solar
Open Circuit: Does residential solar have a bad product?
Latitude Media: GlassPoint is back, and armed with global expansion plans
Latitude Media: Tesla’s rooftop solar paradox
Latitude Media: Can the US bring solar installation to below $2 per watt?
Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.
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More from Catalyst with Shayle Kann
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It’s been a wild few years for grid-scale batteries in Texas. At the start of the decade, the Lone Star State was home to roughly 200 megawatts of battery capacity. Today, that number has skyrocketed to seventeen gigawatts…with at least five more gigawatts expected to come online by the end of 2026.
This is a partner episode, brought to you by Bloom Energy.
Dual-use technologies and the rise of defense tech are having a moment. But how does the defense sector approach innovations in energy that may be necessary to optimize its fleets?