U.S. domestic solar modules near cost parity with global supply

A new industry report suggests that solar panels made in the United States are getting close in price to panels made overseas, mostly because of a federal manufacturing tax credit. Without any credit, U.S.-made solar panels cost more than $0.37 per watt to produce, well above the roughly $0.17 per watt cost in Southeast Asia and India, and far above China's under $0.12 per watt. But a credit called Section 45X, meant to encourage domestic manufacturing, brings the real U.S. cost down to about $0.21 per watt. That leaves only a one-to-three-cent-per-watt gap between U.S.-made panels and imports from Southeast Asia or India, once the credit is factored in.

For a homeowner considering solar, this points toward panel prices staying roughly stable rather than dropping sharply over the next couple of years. The report forecasts global solar installations slowing slightly through 2027, partly because China's own market is cooling off. U.S. panel prices are also expected to stay elevated while the government finishes a trade investigation into tariffs on polysilicon, a raw material used in solar cells. Rising ocean shipping costs, partly tied to conflict in the Middle East, are adding a bit more to the price of any imported equipment as well.

None of this points to an immediate change in rebates or incentives available to homeowners. It mainly signals that the cost of solar equipment itself, whether made in the U.S. or imported, is likely to hold fairly steady rather than fall further in the near term.