A detailed desciption on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Buy American provision can be found in the recent article "Buy Inverters from USA". We got lots of questions from our clients regarding which solar panels qualify for ARRA.
A key element of the Buy American provision is that an item doesn't necessarily have to be manufactured in USA, in order to qualify for Buy American provision, but a substantial transformation must occur in the USA.
- (A Desk Guide to the Buy American Provisions from the US Dept. of Energy)
- (Questions for determining whether substantial transformation has occured in the US)
Answering "yes" to one of the questions would mean a qualification for Buy American provision.
- Were all of the components of the manufactured good manufactured in the United States,
- Were all of the components assembled into the final product in the U.S.?
- Was there a change in character or use of the good or the components in America?
- Was(/were) the process(es) performed in the U.S. (including but not limited to assembly) complex and meaningful?
The solar panels that qualify for Buy American provision are listed below:
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Comments
Thanks for posting this. Question, once the ARRA funds are used up on these projects. Will government and municipal agencies default to ARRA's Buy American provision for buying solar equipment? Are you seening this already happening?
Howdy, Jeff. Interesting question. I know that all federal purchases are covered by the Buy American Act of 1933, so any federal job will have to be Buy American. Because ARRA funds are still supporting jobs, any public building that's going solar these days is gonna use ARRA funds and, therefore, be Buy American.
After ARRA funds dry up, I don't think there will be any sort of general default like you describe. Government agencies, like everybody, go after the most cost-effective option. While I think some might balk at the idea of using foreign-manufactured modules, I don't think there'll be a general default to US-made products.
Hey, Greentech Renewables, thanks for the email! It's great to see all the high-quality US-made panels available these days!
Thanks, I agree with you. I think the ARRA program is great as it helps generate volume for US made panels. As pricing on US made solar panels become more competitive, with increased production, it will make it easier to finance a project with US made panels. This loop feeds on itself.
"ARRA-compliant" and "qualifies for..." are slippery and ultimately deceptive designations that allow companies to manufacture the product abroad but still be "compliant." Look at Enphase microinverters and Satcon inverters, just because the boss and his draftsmen are in USA should not be enough for them to call their imports "ARRA-compliant." It undermines and de-ligitimizes ARRA, and it shows those manufacturers don't have the integrity to actually make in the USA what they get their lawyers to win "compliance" certification. God Bless SolarWorld and PV-Powered and the other genuinely Made In America PV companies who don't need that "compliant" mealy-mouthed BS because they just honestly ARE made in USA.