Top 5 American Solar Panel Manufacturers In 2024

Until recently, the majority of photovoltaic solar panels sold in the United States weren&#;t actually made here. However, events of the past several years have resulted in the expansion of some U.S.-based manufacturers and the building of new U.S. facilities by large Asian solar companies.

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

Steep tariffs on foreign-made solar materials imposed in and (and extended in ) kept inexpensive Chinese solar panels on a roughly even playing field with American products. Now, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has turbo-charged the U.S. solar manufacturing sector. Several gigawatts of new solar production capacity will be built in the country over the next several years.

By volume, the current top 5 solar panel manufacturers in the United States are:

1. First Solar

2. Qcells

3. Silfab

4. Jinko Solar

5. Mission Solar

American-made solar panels may not always come from American companies, but they are built by American workers. Here&#;s more information about five of the biggest, best companies that make solar panels in the USA.

Key takeaways

• The top five solar panel manufacturers in the U.S. are First Solar, Qcells, Silfab, Jinko Solar, and Mission Solar.

• These companies produce high-performance solar panels for residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations.

• Several other companies are planning to build large solar manufacturing plants in the United States in the coming years.

• Other companies, such as Maxeon and Canadian Solar, manufacture some products just north or south of the U.S. border.

Top 5 solar panel manufacturers

Company

USA location(s)

Current USA manufacturing capacity

Top-performing solar panel

First Solar

Ohio, Alabama

2.4 GW

Series 7 TR1

Qcells

Georgia

1.7 GW

Q. PEAK DUO BLK ML-G10+

Silfab Solar

Washington

800 MW

Elite SIL-380

Jinko Solar

Florida

400 MW

EAGLE 72HM G5b

Mission Solar

Texas

300 MW

MSE PERC 66

Find out what a solar installation would cost based on recent installations in your zip code

1. First Solar

Currently the largest manufacturer of solar modules in the United States, First Solar mostly makes CdTe thin-film products aimed at the utility-scale solar sector. FirstSolar is famous for its commitment to recycling its old products and for booking orders of well over ten times its annual production capacity.

First Solar is working on expanding its already large facilities in Ohio and is also building a new plant in Alabama. The company also said it plans to work with SunPower on a new tandem solar panel for homes that could reach the market by . The &#;tandem&#;, in this case, refers to a layer of specially-tuned CdTe thin film placed on top of traditional crystalline silicon solar cells.

2. Qcells

Qcells (formerly Hanwha Q CELLS), which was founded in , is a subsidiary of South Korea-based Hanwha Solutions with a regional headquarters office in Irvine, California. It currently supplies more residential solar panels in the U.S. than any other company.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of 120 Half Cell Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

The Tier 1 company currently operates a 1.7 gigawatt (GW) solar panel manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia, that began production in February . In and , the company announced an investment of $2.5 billion in plans to expand its solar business in a multitude of ways. The end goal of that expansion is to create a fully domestic solar supply chain, from raw poly-silicon production to the manufacturing of solar silicon wafers, solar cells, and finally, modules.

Based on the quality and value of its high-performance mono PERC solar panels and its commitment to the U.S. market, Qcells leads the SolarReviews rankings of the top 10 solar panel manufacturers for the residential market.

3. Silfab Solar

Silfab Solar is a privately-held solar company based in Ontario, but the company actually has more employees in the United States. In the U.S., the company manufactures solar panels at two facilities in Washington with a combined manufacturing capacity of 800 megawatts (MW).

In , Silfab introduced its latest Elite series solar panel, which uses an innovative conductive backsheet to channel power from the solar cells, rather than wire busbars that can reduce power output. The company also announced plans to begin manufacturing its own solar cells in a new facility it plans to build in South Carolina.

4. Jinko Solar

In response to tariffs filed under President Trump, Shanghai-based Jinko Solar opened a 400-MW solar panel manufacturing plant in Jacksonville, Florida, in . The Florida plant is important to serve the U.S. market but represents a small portion of the company&#;s 70+ GW worldwide manufacturing capacity.

Jinko has yet to announce plans to expand its manufacturing base in the United States. Still, the company may be inspired to do so in the near future, as its Chinese rival LONGi has announced plans to build a 5 GW solar module factory in Ohio.

5. Mission Solar

Mission Solar has been manufacturing solar panels in San Antonio, Texas, since . A subsidiary of a Korean company called OCI, Mission now assembles 300 MW of solar panels each year. By its 10-year anniversary in , it plans to have expanded to 1 GW of annual manufacturing capacity in Texas.

Mission&#;s current products utilize p-type monocrystalline PERC solar cells. These products offer acceptable performance and are certified to standard regulations for reliability. Still, they don&#;t rise to the levels of efficiency seen among their competitors' products, and the company hasn't yet adopted newer technologies like half-cut solar cells and cell shingling that offer increased efficiency in the same area.

Latest solar panel manufacturing trends

In August , Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which introduced the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit (45X MPTC) and expanded the Section 48C Advanced Energy Project Investment Tax Credit (48C ITC). These programs provide economic incentives to manufacture solar materials in the United States.

The 45X MPTC provides tax credits to manufacturers that make clean energy components like solar panels, and the 48C ITC provides tax credits for the purchase and commissioning of property that will be used for manufacturing. Manufacturers of solar components can choose to receive tax credits under one&#;but not both&#;of these programs.

In addition to the manufacturing tax credits, the IRA included a 10% bonus investment tax credit under section 48D for installations that use &#;domestic content.&#; This provides additional demand from solar installers for products made by U.S. companies.

Since the passage of the ITC, several solar companies have announced plans to expand or build new facilities in the United States. In addition to the announcements from First Solar, Qcells, LONGi, and Silfab covered in the sections above, companies like REC Silicon, JA Solar, and Hounen have also announced major U.S. manufacturing facilities.

Final thoughts

Due to the IRA and some forward-thinking companies, the future of American solar manufacturing is bright.

As homeowners shop for solar, they are nearly as likely to be offered American-made panels than products from anywhere else. Soon, so many solar panels will be made in the U.S. that it may become uncommon to see imported products on the market.

Find out how much local installers are charging for top American-made solar panels

Description

List of the 10 largest solar panel manufacturers

The global industry of solar panel manufacturers is somewhat hard to compare as companies announce different measurements of their size and their production capacities. Some companies announce their annual module capacity while others announce their lifetime capacity. We have compiled a list that includes the largest companies in both categories.

LONGi Solar is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the World. The Company is located in the Chinese town of Xi&#;an in the province of Shaanxi. LONGi Solar was established in the year and has revenues of 8.416 billion US dollars. The company produces 30GW of high-efficiency solar wafers and modules per year. These modules are monocrystalline and use either the PERC, the bifacial technology, or both. The current generation cells of the LONGi Solar have 30-year reliability and their P-type PERC cells have an efficiency of 24.06%.

Update : LONGi inked a substantial 576MW sales agreement with Nofar Energy Romania for an undisclosed photovoltaic (PV) project in Romania. The project, anticipated to commence construction in , will utilize LONGi&#;s Hi-MO 7 modules and is projected to become operational in .

JinkoSolar is a listed solar panel manufacturer from Shanghai, China. The company owns nine production facilities globally and has an annual capacity of 31 GW for solar wafers, 19 GW for solar cells, and 36 GW for solar modules. JinkoSolar especially has a focus on Half-Cell technology, Bifacial technology, and Tiling Ribbon technology, which is a rivaling technique to 5BB and was developed by JinkoSolar.

Trina Solar is a China-based solar panel manufacturer. The company is located in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, in the city of Changzhou. Trina Solar was founded in and has so far delivered over 77 GW of solar modules globally. Since the company is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The firm develops ultra-high power monocrystalline solar modules and some incorporate the bifacial technology.

Canadian Solar is, as the name implies, a Canada-based solar module manufacturer. The company was founded in by Dr. Shawn Qu to &#;foster sustainable development and to create a better and cleaner earth for future generations&#;. In the last 20 years, the company has evolved into one of the global players in the solar industry with more than 63 GW of solar modules shipped to over 160 countries globally. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ and has received multiple awards like the &#;No. 1 Top Bankable Manufacturer Rated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in &#; Award by Bloomberg. The company produces inverters, energy storage systems, and solar modules with Bifacial, HJT, and PERC technologies.

5) Hanwha Solutions Corporation (Seoul, South Korea)

Q-Cells is a solar module manufacturer that was founded in Germany in . and after being bought out of bankruptcy by the Hanwha Group the firm relocated to Seoul, South Korea. The company is a leading solar company with R&D facilities in Germany, Korea, China, and Malaysia.

Risen Energy is a publicly-traded Chinese company, founded in . Risen Energy is one of the oldest solar companies still active today. The company manufactures wafers, cells, and solar modules and is also an investor and a developer of EPC projects in the solar industry. The company has a yearly solar module capacity of 19.1 GW produces PERC, HJT, and Bifacial solar modules.

First Solar is an American solar module manufacturer based in Tempe, Arizona. Since the company is led by CEO Mark Widmar. First Solar produces utility-scale solar modules often used in solar plants. The modules have a warranty of 25 years and use advanced Thin Film solar technology which has a higher temperature coefficient and lower degradation rate than conventional silicon-based solar modules.

Suntech is a solar cell and module producer from Wuxi, China which was founded in . So far the company has delivered solar modules to over 100 countries worldwide with a combined capacity of 30 GW. Suntech uses state-of-the-art PERC technology and Bifacial, Half-Cell, and Multi-Busbar technologies.

JA SOLAR is a Beijing-based solar module manufacturer that was founded in and is listed on the NASDAQ. The company has delivered solar modules to over 33.000 clients in over 100 countries worldwide and has a lifetime capacity of 73 GW of solar modules. JA SOLAR produces Bifacial PERC modules and HAlf-Cell in addition to conventional monocrystalline solar modules.

10) Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co., Ltd (South San Francisco, USA)

Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co., Ltd  is a US-based photovoltaic module manufacturer that was founded in . In addition to the production of solar modules the company is also a provider of PV technical services for solar plants. Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co., Ltd has a capacity of around 9 GW annually.

List of the largest photovoltaic module manufacturers

Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energies that humans are able to use on a large scale. The sun sends more energy to earth in one hour than humankind uses in a year, and in addition to that, we are able to harvest it easily and cheaply compared to fossil fuels. One way to capture sunlight is with solar or photovoltaic modules.

The largest producers are included in this list

This list contains the largest photovoltaic module manufacturers in the world. The majority of the firms have their headquarters and manufacturing sites in China but do also have regional offices around the globe. Next to China, there are many companies from India, the US, and Germany and a few from the UK, France, Spain, Japan, and South Korea.

Main PV technologies covered in our database

The manufacturers in our list are producing state-of-the-art PV modules and panels. In the following paragraphs, we are introducing you to the most important PV technologies that are currently &#;en vogue&#;.

Crystalline silicon modules 

Most photovoltaic cells are constructed using crystalline silicon wafers or thin-film technology, whereas around 90% of solar modules are using crystalline silicon. Photovoltaic cells can either be monocrystalline or polycrystalline. The usage of a monocrystalline structure allows for higher efficiency but is also more expensive. The majority of the wafer-based solar cells are polycrystalline which have lower efficiency but are more cost-effective.

Thin-film solar modules

The development of large-scale thin-film solar cells and modules is fairly new. In contrast to crystalline solar cells thin-film solar cells do not require a crystalline structure and basically &#;sandwich&#; their components between two panes of glass. This is an interesting technology since thin-film panels can be produced in different shapes and sizes. On small-scale thin-film solar cells are used in calculators or backpacks.

State-of-the-Art solar cell technologies are part of our list

In the composition of this list, we tried to determine which kind of solar modules companies manufacture. However, this was not always apparent. Where possible we tried to highlight high-efficiency crystalline technologies like PERC, Bifacial, HJT, and others.

PERC architecture

PERC or passivated emitter and rear contact is a new technology for crystalline solar cells that allows the cells to capture more sunlight than traditional solar cells. This is achieved by adding an extra layer to the PERC architecture near the rear surface through which more electrons can be capture by the solar cells. Additionally PERC cells are able to attenuate rear recombination which inhibits longer wavelength from turning into heat. This would damage the solar cells over time.

Bifacial

Bifacial solar panels have a second &#;face&#; of solar cells on the back which allows the cell to capture light reflected by the ground. Different types of ground surface are able to reflect different amounts of light back in the solar panels. Bifacial solar panels are only installed on solar parks and some solar parks are covering the ground near the solar panels with highly reflective materials in order to capture as much sunlight as possible.

BIPV

BIPV stands for Building-integrated photovoltaics. This technology allows solar panels to be integrated into buildings.

HJT

Heterojunction solar modules are a hybrid between crystalline silicon wafers and thin-film solar cells. The technology is not new, but was patent protected by Panasonic. After the patent protection has ended many manufacturer are now using the technology for their own solar cells. Heterojunction solar cell is the most promising technology even surpassing the above mentioned PERC architecture.

Half-Cell

The traditional Full-Cell technology has each solar cell in a solar panel connected to the next one in the panel. If one cell is not able to work because either it is broken or the cell is covered by a leaf or a shadow, the whole panel is not able to work. Half-Cell technology splits the solar panel in half which allows half the cell to function normally while the other half is covered up. Half-Cells are also hotspot safe and are able to mitigate more heat than Full-Cells.

Included columns in this list

• Company Name
• Legal form
• URL
• Country
• City
• Postcode
• Address
• Management
• Parent company
• Company services
• PV technologies
• GW delivered
• Other products
• GW capacity

Included countries in this database

• Algeria
• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• China
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Norway
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• UAE
• UK
• USA

Image Source: Unsplash (Markus Spiske, 26.01.22; Nuno Marques, 26.01.22)

The company is the world’s best Durable Solar Panels China supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.