The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009.
The stimulus was intended to create jobs and promote investment and consumer spending during the recession.The measures are nominally worth $787 billion which includes $68.4 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, $22 billion toward a so-called smart electricity grid to reduce waste; $8.5 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects and up to $17.3 billion substantial tax credits.
The "Buy American" provision requires the beneficiaries of the ARRA stimulus package to purchase some portion of the products in their systems to be "Buy American" compliant. (Frequently asked questions about ARRA)
An item doesn't necessarily have to be manufactured in USA, in order to qualify for Buy American provision, but a substantial transformation should have occurred in USA.
- A Desk Guide to the Buy American Provisions by the US Dept. of Energy
- Questions for determining whether substantial transformation has occured in the US
Answering "yes" to one of the questions below 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 inverters that qualify for Buy American provision are listed below:
| Manufacturer | Links to documentation | Notes |
| Enphase Energy | DOE Memorandum of Decision | Equipment is manufactured outside of the US; but they qualify for ARRA. |
| SMA | Buy American Compliance Letter | All Sunny Boy inverters, ranging from 3 kW to 7 kW, are assembled in Denver, Colorado. Other SMA products, like Sunny Central and Sunny Island inverters, will be assembled in Denver in 2011. |
| Yaskawa Solar Solectria | Buy American Compliance Newsletter | Yaskawa Solar Solectria is a US based company with manufacturing in Lawrance, MA. All central inverters and auxiliary string combiners, and the SolrenView web-based monitoring gateway are ARRA-eligible. |
Contact Greentech Renewables to recieve the latest documentation regarding ARRA.
Comments
Very interesting article, thanks.
So Enphase gets to NOT make their microinverters in USA and still be called ARRA-compliant? Until they actually DO make their products in the USA, our company MADE IN USA SOLAR LLC will not sell them. Also it de-legitimizes ARRA for such exemptions to be granted, it means ARRA certification doesn't actually certify the product was Made in USA after all. Kathy Zoi (the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) mocks and undermines the Buy-American intent of the ARRA when she granted Enphase the waiver. Enphase, if they had any integrity, would renounce the certification or build their microinverters here in USA.
Same story for Satcon. "Designed in US" is NOT made in USA. ARRA is watered-down practically meaningless BS. Shows the regulators like Cathy Zoi running the ARRA are weasils helping American bosses keep the profits while exporting the actual manufacturing jobs. Disgusting.