American-made solar panels: How to find them
Everybody would love to get their hands on some American-made solar panels. But where can you find them?
There are several companies assembling solar panels in the U.S., and more are bringing operations here. But many of the most critical components of a solar panel are still being made overseas.
Businesses can take advantage of extra tax credits for using domestic products in their solar installations, which makes American-made solar panels even more attractive.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the state of domestic solar manufacturing.
Silicon production
It’s important to note an important distinction when talking about American-made solar panels: Whether the panels were assembled in the U.S. using parts from other countries, or if they were composed of American parts.
For now, panels being assembled in America likely relied on critical components from elsewhere.
Perhaps the single most important element in a solar energy system is silicon. Thin wafers of silicon are processed into individual solar cells that make up panels.
As the number of U.S. solar installations jumped in recent years, domestic cell and wafer makers fell victim to low-cost imports. U.S. wafer production stopped completely in 2015.
“About 97% of the world’s production of silicon wafers occurs in China. Those wafers are shipped from China and made into solar cells,” according to a Department of Energy report from 2022. “About 75% of the silicon solar cells incorporated into modules installed in the United States are made by Chinese subsidiaries located in just three Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.”
Incentives
To spur American manufacturing, Congress passed new bonus tax credits for using domestic content in solar installations as part of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. The bonus tax credit increases the base tax credit from 30% to 40%.
Since the law’s passage, several companies have announced plans to bring silicon wafer and solar cell production to the U.S. QCells, a major panel maker, says it plans to finish a plant in Georgia by the end of 2024, and Meyer Burger plans to make solar cells in Colorado.
Heliene, which has a solar panel plant in Mountain Iron, Minn., announced in March it would receive cells from Georgia-based Suniva to install in its panels.
“Building a robust and resilient solar manufacturing sector and supply chain in America supports the U.S. economy and helps to keep pace with rising domestic and global demand for affordable solar energy,” the Department of Energy says. “It will also decrease the dependence of the U.S. on foreign energy supply, which improves U.S. energy security, and also increases the export of renewable generation equipment from the U.S.”
Some assembly required
While the U.S. is just getting solar cell and wafer production up and running, many brands assemble panels domestically. That includes Mission Solar, Silfab Solar and Canadian Solar.
The U.S. saw a jump in domestic solar assembly in 2018 thanks to tariffs on imported panels, according to the DOE report.
How to get American-made solar panels
Identifying brands that produce American-made solar panels is fairly easy – all it takes is some light Googling.
But it’s always worth asking your prospective solar installer about which panels they install. Some stick with a couple of brands that may or may not have a U.S. presence, while others have more flexibility in where they get their panels.
To learn about the panels we install, give us a ring at the number below!
Read more from Northland’s solar energy experts:
- American-made solar panels: How to find them
- Solar radiation: How it varies year to year
- Commercial EV chargers: Wolf Track partners with ZEF Energy
- Commercial solar incentives: How to get a bonus tax credit for your business
- Solar for Schools grants in Minnesota: Learn how to apply in 2024
