As the solar energy market continues to grow, more and more homeowners and businesses are giving serious consideration to where their solar equipment is coming from. While imported products currently dominate a huge share of the U.S. solar market, you may want to consider looking instead at products that are made right here on American soil. Choosing American-made solar panels and other system equipment gives you a wide range of benefits, from supporting our country’s economy to ensuring higher quality and faster service. Keep reading to learn more about why you should invest in American-made solar panels.
Strengthening the U.S. Economy and Job Market
One of the most important reasons to buy American-made panels is the direct impact it has on the country’s economy. Buying domestically made products supports American workers, businesses, and supply chains. Every panel and piece of equipment you buy helps create jobs in engineering, production, logistics, and installation—all of them essential to the solar power industry.
The U.S. solar industry employs hundreds of thousands of workers across all of these components of the industry, and choosing to buy from an American solar company keeps those workers employed. When solar users like you prioritize buying American-made equipment, you help fuel job growth in these areas and continue to support an independent energy economy.
This also helps create a ripple effect that extends beyond just the solar industry. Local suppliers, fabricators, and logistics companies also benefit when manufacturing remains within the country. This reinforces economic health at the community level. While not everything you use in your daily life can reasonably be purchased domestically, solar panels and other solar equipment can be, and it benefits your local economy and the national economy when you choose to do so.
Ensuring Fair Labor and Manufacturing Standards
American-made solar products are required to adhere to strict labor, environmental, and safety regulations. The manufacturing facilities where these products are made have to comply with strict workplace safety laws and other guidelines that are often higher than international standards. This ensures that workers are treated fairly, the materials are sourced responsibly, and the manufacturing processes are environmentally safe. By contrast, solar products coming from other countries may not be as strictly regulated, so labor practices and environmental protections are questionable at best.
By choosing to invest in U.S.-made solar equipment, you can feel confident that your solar power system is being produced ethically and sustainably. And, since this is a product that’s designed to make your home more sustainable and environmentally friendly, it just makes sense that you would want to ensure the products themselves meet those standards.
Higher Quality and Reliability
Quality assurance is another big advantage of choosing American-made products. Manufacturers based in the U.S. usually have higher testing standards and more oversight regarding the quality of the products they sell. This leads to products that are more reliable, have a longer lifespan, and offer better performance under many different climate conditions.
American manufacturers also tend to provide more reliable customer support and warranty service. Because headquarters are more localized and supply chains are shorter, warranty claims and technical issues can be addressed much more quickly than with international suppliers. And in a situation where downtimes directly translate to last energy production and reduced return on your investment, faster response times can make a big difference.
Shorter Lead Time and Lower Supply Risks
As many people learned over the last several years, global supply chain disruptions can have long-lasting impacts and can affect virtually every industry—including solar. Tariffs, shipping delays, and the complexities of global politics can all drive up costs or delay projects that depend on imported solar parts. By buying American-made panels and inverters, you can mitigate some of these risks.
Domestic manufacturing means shorter lead times on receiving products, and less fluctuation in pricing since the products aren’t subject to the same global supply chain issues as international products. Installers can stock up on equipment with greater confidence, project developers can meet deadlines more consistently, and end users can get their systems installed and running much more quickly.
Qualifying for Federal and State Incentives
Another, more personal advantage of choosing domestically made products is that you could be eligible for certain incentives from state and federal governments. While you can still qualify for some tax credits for any solar power system you install, the federal Investment Tax Credit offers an additional credit if your solar project meets domestic content requirements.
This credit requires you to build a solar power system that contains a certain percentage of American-made products, as an added incentive to support domestic manufacturing in the industry. This can increase the total tax credit you receive for your system, helping you reduce that upfront cost quite nicely.
Choosing an American Solar Company
If you’re installing a solar power system, there are many U.S.-based solar companies to choose from. First Solar, Qcells USA, Silfab, Mission Solar, and SunPower are just a few of the leading names in the American solar industry. So, the next time you look at solar products, consider buying Mission Solar panels, or other solar equipment from any of the top American solar manufacturers, and start reaping the benefits of buying domestic products.
Awais Shamsi 
admin