Sourcing Solar Panels: Where They're Made and Assembled

Today, the U.S. produces around 126 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy: enough to power about 22 million American homes. But this isn&#;t necessarily from American-made solar panels.

OUSHANG SOLAR contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.

What&#;s more, the Energy Information Administration predicts a 6% growth in the solar energy market between and . 

So, it makes sense that people are looking to go solar &#; and want to buy U.S. products. However, as a buyer, it&#;s important to know where your solar panels come from. And frankly, 100% American-made solar panel manufacturers are few and far between. 

Let&#;s explore why that&#;s the case.

[Related: Guide to Solar Panels]

Where Are Solar Panels Sourced?

Manufacturers source most solar panels from outside the U.S. 

One way to find out where a solar panel comes from is to check where its individual parts are sourced. You can compare this to where manufacturers eventually assemble those parts.

Here&#;s a brief overview of where companies manufacture the main components of solar panels and where they might end up assembling them.

Before we get started, we should note solar panels have three main parts:

• Silicon cells
• An aluminum frame
• Protectants (glass, encapsulant and backsheet)

Silicon Cells

Silicon is the main ingredient in solar cells. China is the world&#;s top silicon producer. As of , Russia, Brazil, Norway and the U.S. follow China. 

The individual companies that produce silicon often have facilities spanning numerous countries. This makes it difficult to trace exactly where a panel&#;s parts and materials are coming from.

Aluminum Frame

Imagine how a picture frame works. It&#;s essentially the same concept as the aluminum frame in a solar panel assembly.

A solar panel frame is what tightly binds together the solar cells, glass, encapsulant and backsheet. And most aluminum solar system manufacturers are from China, aside from 12 other countries. 

Glass, Encapsulant and Backsheet Protectants

In solar panels, the glass, encapsulant and backsheet are important for protecting solar silicon cells from damage and harmful exposure, such as harsh weather. 

Protectant manufacturing follows the same process as most other solar panel parts. What&#;s more, China is still the key player in this process. Germany, India, Korea, Japan and the U.S. rank behind China yet again.

The honest truth is that companies source most panels (the ones available for purchase in the U.S.) from overseas. Because of all the varied materials and involved parties, fully American-made solar panel companies are hard to come by.

Maxeon (previously SunPower) solar panels, for example, are made, assembled and sourced outside of the U.S., but they&#;re the highest-rated panels you can buy in the states. And in the industry in general. They go through a rigorous quality and reliability standard, perform better than competition and have a comprehensive, full warranty. 

Freedom Solar is a certified provider of Maxeon (previously SunPower) solar panels and we offer a 25-year warranty on performance, product and workmanship. 

[Related: Who Makes the Best Solar Panels?]  

What Are the Benefits of Owning Solar Panels?

Although most solar panel equipment is fabricated and assembled outside of the U.S., a solar system is still certainly worth the investment. 

Solar panels are revolutionizing the way people source their power. And in terms of making eco-conscious investments, home solar installation are an ideal choice.

Commercial solar installations and home solar installation are beneficial, regardless of where companies source the panels (i.e., American-made solar panels or not). And of course, solar panel systems have a substantially positive impact on the environment. 

So, once you&#;ve paid the initial purchase costs &#; with local rebates and incentives to offset your total cost &#; you&#;ll continue to benefit for decades to come. 

Here are some top reasons to go solar:

[Related: How Going Solar Saved a Struggling Colorado Farm]

Purchasing Solar Panels: Here&#;s What You Can Expect to Pay

Cost is usually the first thing people consider when they think about going solar. And the cost of American-made solar panels is tricky to pinpoint &#; many factors come into play.

Overall, solar panels might seem pricey at first glance. Fortunately, you have many helpful financing options that make the purchase feasible for you, your family or possibly your business. 

And thanks to President Biden&#;s recently passed law, you can expect to save. 

On Aug. 16, , President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of into law &#; the largest bill in history to fight climate change. The IRA includes a significant extension to the federal solar tax credit, no matter which solar provider you choose. 

&#;It invests $369 billion to secure our energy future and to address the climate crisis, bringing down family energy bills by hundreds of dollars by providing working families tax credits. It gives folks rebates to buy new and efficient appliances, to weatherize their homes, and tax credits for heat pumps and rooftop solar,&#; states Biden. 

Solar panels and solar-related equipment qualify for the solar investment tax credit (ITC), as well as local solar rebates and incentives that reduce your final purchase cost. And whenever you purchase solar panels from a trusted provider, it usually includes installation in the total price. 

As of summer when Biden passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), up to 30% in tax credits are available to offset the initial cost of solar panel purchase and installation. The goal is to encourage home and business owners to go solar. Come , you can expect the rate to drop to 26%. 

[Related: 10 Clean Energy Benefits In the Inflation Reduction Act That Could Change Your Home and Fill Your Wallet]

Going Solar: Is It Worth It?

Solar panels are absolutely worth the cost and effort. Considering the fact that the U.S. consumes 10,715 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually, going solar makes a real difference. 

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit 72 Cell Solar Module OEM.

What&#;s more, the average American household has an electric bill reaching about $125 &#; and that&#;s without solar panels. With them, you can expect thousands of dollars in savings every year.

Solar panels also increase your home&#;s resale price. Real estate market research shows buyers will purchase a home for an extra $12,000 to $15,000 if it has solar panels. 

So, regardless of where your panels come from, they offer many more benefits than nonrenewable energy sources. 

We know you&#;re a conscientious buyer. Pushing toward affordable systems from wholly American-made solar panel manufacturers is important, but getting there will take time. And yes, that can be frustrating.

But at the end of the day, going solar with or without American-made solar panels is your best choice in terms of your budget, your ethics and the planet you live on.

[Related: Solar Panels and EV Stations: The Prevalence of Solar-Powered EV Charging Stations]

Contact Freedom Solar for Maxeon (previously SunPower) Solar Panels

Want to join the clean energy community? Solar panel company Freedom Solar provides and installs Maxeon (previously SunPower) solar panels &#; some of the most efficient on the market.

We offer a pre-construction consultation and will also collaborate with your contractor. Our goal is to ensure you wind up with the highest-quality solar panels available. Plus, our dedicated team will provide you with decades of support. 

Looking to maintain, repair or upgrade your solar system? Our solar repair and maintenance service department can help you obtain maximum energy production and efficiency.

Call us at (800) 504- or begin your free consultation today. One of our solar specialists will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

Featured image via Pixabay

A transition to 100% clean energy is an urgent priority worldwide to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet. Solar power is jetting us towards that goal. 

By , the US had installed 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, enough power to provide electricity for one third of the households in Los Angeles. Since then, the price of electricity from solar panels (photovoltaic, or PV, modules) dropped 85%, and today the US boasts more than 126 GW of installed capacity, enough to power all the households in California and Texas.  

The growth in solar power has been exponential in the past decade and isn&#;t stopping. The US solar industry aims to supply 30% of US energy generation by .  

But manufacturing the solar panels necessary for such a huge increase in solar power production will require a surge in the mining of raw materials. There are myriad problems that exist with the mining of silicon, silver, aluminum, and copper needed to make solar panels. Can governments and companies ensure that workers in the solar supply chain benefit from safe, just, and well-compensated livelihoods&#;and that the communities most affected are involved as active collaborators, treated with respect and dignity? This post looks at the concerns in the supply chain for solar panels as well as solutions the industry must move towards if solar power is to expand responsibly and sustainably.  

(To understand how those raw materials are put together into electricity-producing panels, check out my previous post How Are Solar Panels Made.)

Concerns with mining raw materials

According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), about 12% of all silicon metal produced worldwide (also known as &#;metallurgical-grade silicon&#; or MGS) is turned into polysilicon for solar panel production. China produces about 70% of the world&#;s MGS and 77% of the world&#;s polysilicon. Converting silicon to polysilicon requires very high temperatures, and in China it&#;s coal that largely fuels these plants. Xinjiang&#;a region in China of abundant coal and low electricity prices&#;produces 45% of the world&#;s polysilicon. 

Reports indicate that some Xinjiang polysilicon plants have employed forced labor of Uyghurs, an intensely persecuted Muslim ethnic minority. In June , a US Withhold Release Order prevented imports containing silicon from Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd and its subsidiaries from entering the US until importing companies could prove they were not made with forced labor. The December Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act expanded the mandate that all US companies importing silicon from Xinjiang confirm supply chains free of forced labor.

A Gleeson Quarries silica mine in Ireland. Photo credit: CDE Global/Flickr.

Ten percent of the world&#;s silver is used for solar panels today, and that brings its own share of problems to the supply chain. By , in a 100% renewable energy scenario that assumes current solar technology and current recycling rates, solar power&#;s demand for silver could be more than 50% of world reserves.  

Silver mining, based mainly in Mexico, China, Peru, Chile, Australia, Russia, and Poland, can sometimes cause heavy metal contamination and community displacement. In Guatemala, the Indigenous Xinka community collected more than 85,000 signatures calling on Pan American Silver to avoid restarting its dormant operations due to water contamination, failure to justly consult the community, and potential involvement in threats directed at nonviolent protesters. In La Libertad, Peru, a 17-year-old mine stopped operating in after five emergency declarations of high levels of metal contamination in the Moche River.

Xinka leaders fill the Guatemalan Congress in protesting the Guatemalan government&#;s repression of anti-silver mine activism. Photo credit: Xeni Jardin/Flickr.

While silicon and silver are the materials for which solar represents a substantial slice of the market, it&#;s critical to ensure sustainable, ethical sourcing of the other materials, even if only a fraction of global usage. For example, solar panels use a small amount of aluminum, which is sourced from bauxite found near the Earth&#;s surface. Mining it requires lots of land, often encroaching on Indigenous land, as in Australia, where 28% of the world&#;s bauxite is produced, and smallholder farmland, as in Guinea, where 22% of it is produced. China produces 22% of the world&#;s bauxite, and processes 56% of global bauxite into aluminum via a very energy-intensive process.

A former bauxite mine in Hungary. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Copper has similar land use challenges as aluminum. According to United States Geological Survey, 27% of copper production occurs in Chile, 10% in Peru, 8% in China, and 8% in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a 100% renewable energy by scenario, copper demand for solar projects may almost triple, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).  

The Institute for Human Rights and Business reports that of the top 300 undeveloped copper ore reserves in the world, 47% are located on or in Indigenous lands, 65% are in high water risk areas, and 65% are in or near biodiversity conservation areas.

The world&#;s largest open-pit copper mine is in Chile. Photo credit: Martyn Unsworth/Imaggeo.egu.eu.

The manufacturing process spans the globe

There are three parts of a solar panel that need to be manufactured: the silicon wafer, the solar cell, and the photovoltaic module. Very little of this is manufactured domestically, representing big opportunities for new and pioneering US innovation.  

The wafer is the thin metal slice that is turned into a solar cell, and 97% of them are produced in China. A decade ago, the US was producing enough silicon wafers to supply 80% of domestic demand. As of February , there was no domestic production of wafers due to far lower prices abroad and Chinese tariffs, but a few US sites have announced plans to come online in the next several years.

Boron and phosphorous are added to wafers during the manufacturing process. The wafers are then wired with silver, which turns them into solar cells capable of transforming captured sunlight into electricity. While the first US crystalline silicon solar cell plants have announced plans to open in the next few years, no cells are produced in the US today; most are made in South Korea, Malaysia, China, and Vietnam. 

A solar PV panel or &#;module&#; is made by assembling an array of solar cells, ranging from 36 to 144 cells, on top of a strong plastic polymer back sheet with a sheet of tempered glass added on top. More than three-quarters of PV modules are made in China. It currently costs 30-40% more to manufacture a solar panel in the US. There are about 20 US-owned, US-based solar module and shingle manufacturers, with 10 based in California, and others based in New York, Ohio, Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, and Arizona. 

A more sustainable, responsible supply chain is possible

As described above, there are many challenges associated with the materials mining and manufacturing processes needed to make solar panels. But effective policy and technology solutions can ensure that we continue to increase solar power supply and move towards responsible, sustainable solar supply chains.  

Here are four strategies (among many others) that governments and industry can employ to reduce the environmental, social, and energy challenges of solar panel production.

1. Ensure ethical supply chains. When sourcing raw materials, governments and solar companies can commit to ensuring that mining and refining companies obtain the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of the communities in which they operate. Companies can participate in regulation and evaluation standards such as the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition Solar Scorecard. 
2. Decarbonize manufacturing processes. Fortunately, new innovations are already reducing the electricity required to make polysilicon. For example, a new polysilicon production process called the &#;fluidized bed reactor&#; could use 80-90% less energy than the more widely used Siemens process. Additionally, choosing to produce solar panels in places with cleaner energy sources&#;along with strategic policy to encourage such siting&#;can go a long way to reduce the carbon intensity of the process. The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act with its tax credits for solar panel-producing companies, and the Biden administration&#;s invocation of the Defense Production Act to spur on a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry, are two examples of strategic policy that can accelerate the decarbonization of this industry.
3. Improve panel, material, and process efficiency. Improving the energy generation efficiency of solar panels means that customers can generate more electricity from fewer panels&#;which would be easier on the wallet and would require less raw materials in the solar supply chain. While solar panels can last for decades, research and innovation into further extending the lifetime of solar panels can also help customers avoid needing to replace them. Designing panels and solar business models to support easy, affordable, and accessible refurbishment can also extend panel lifetimes. Plus, technological innovation can reduce the amount of raw materials needed in solar panels. For example, engineers have lowered the amount of silver needed in each solar cell by 67% from to , and it is expected to drop further.
4. Increase recycling and reuse. Here lies the biggest &#;silver&#; lining in the solar panel life cycle story. The two big challenges&#;raw material sourcing issues and the accumulation of solar panel waste&#;can help solve one another. Higher numbers of retired solar panels means more recyclable raw materials will be available to supplement increasingly scarce, costly, and international supply chains. Because solar panel reuse and recycling research is still nascent, there are many opportunities for new initiatives and companies to make a big impact. Policy and investment in a new era of circular renewable energy technologies will ensure that the transition to clean power worldwide is as responsible, sustainable, and circular as possible.

And what happens at a solar panel&#;s end-of-life? Today, we&#;re installing 50-60 million panels per year, which will generate a million metric tons of solar panel waste when the panels retire. By , experts estimate we could be installing over 350 million panels per year. This is huge, climate-saving news for accelerating the clean energy transition. It also raises the stakes for ensuring sustainable materials sourcing and end-of-life management. Where will the panels go 20-30 years later when they reach the end of their lifespan? Are there opportunities to achieve a circular solar panel supply chain?

Want to learn more about how solar panels are made? What does the solar panel repair and reuse industry look like today? How can we recycle solar panel materials and create a lower-waste circular supply chain? Click the links for answers:

How Are Solar Panels Made?

Solar Panels Should Be Reused and Recycled. Here&#;s How.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website 72 Cell Solar Module Solution.