About 90% of US panels are made overseas, causing havoc in the American solar industry at a time when demand is soaringSolar panels are seen on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on April 20 2022. File Picture: REUTERS/JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ
Universal Solar America, an Arizona company that helps solar project developers procure panels, said its planned facility will help US companies avoid tariffs, shipping delays and other challenges that have scuttled a supply chain consisting mainly of products made in Asia. Though solar panels are assembled in several Asian countries, the industry’s raw material, polysilicon, is primarily produced in China and has been tied to concerns about forced labour in the Xinjiang region.
“We started looking at ... what can we do to try to get out of Asia,” Bereckis said. “The political climate between China, Asia and the US is not going to get any better.”