Chinese Solar Panels: Made in the U.S.A.

Suntech Solar Panels to be made in the U.S.A.

Suntech Power Holdings, a Chinese company, has announced the location of a new solar manufacturing plant right here in the U.S.A.  Its the first for the company, which many view as the leader of the global solar market.

The Suntech solar manufacturing plant will be located in Phoenix, Arizona.  When production begins next October, Suntech will be the first major Chinese solar panel company to bring green factory jobs to this country.

Solar panel manufacturing

Not only is this great news for residents of Phoenix, but overall, the move should help alleviate concerns about China’s dominance of the green technology market, and potential trade issues that could arise as a result.  Dan Kammen, a professor in the energy and resources group at Berkeley commented:

“Suntech’s decision to bring manufacturing here to the U.S. is a great sign of the increasingly important collaboration between Chinese and American leaders in the renewable-energy industry.”

World-wide, most solar panels are produced by European and Asian companies.  At the Phoenix facility for Suntech, the initial production will be at a capacity of 30 megawatts (MW) per year, which is enough to power about 7,500 homes.  From there, production will grow to 200 MW annually!

You are probably wondering – who will be buying solar panels?   What is the demand?

In 2008, production of nearly 500 MW of solar panels was achieved.  While the recession affected sales this year, solar panel demand in the U.S. is expected to exceed 1,000 MW next year – a 50% growth rate in a mere 2 years.

Lower prices and more generous tax rebates and incentives can be thanked.

Solar Panel arrays

In 2010, who knows where the leading solar manufacturing plant will be – China or the U.S.A.?  Suntech Power Holdings, based in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, is currently the top vendor of crystalline photovoltaic solar panels in both countries.

In fact, you may be wondering why Suntech sited its new solar panel plant in Phoenix? The state of Arizona has a strong renewable energy standard, which requires 15% of all electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025.  The region also favors distributed generation, which is renewable energy that is generated locally, rather than at sites that require feed-in to the grid and transport across many miles to the end user.

For U.S. customers, it makes sense to locate solar panel manufacturing here.  Suntech knows that delivery time, costs, and overall carbon footprint can be lowered when the panels are created here, rather than overseas.

The market for solar panels is set to go through a paradigm shift in the near future.  Supply costs are going down, while demand will increase.  Government incentives are on the rise, and financing options are getting more creative.

Two or three years ago, who would have thought that we would see Chinese solar panels made here in the U.S.A.?

Its a brave new world in renewable energy!

Tags: chinese solar panels, green technology market, solar manufacturing plant, suntech power holdings, suntech solar panels