A new chapter begins for SolarWorld

Gerald Ford, George Harrison, and Ravi Shankar (Indian sitar player) in 1970s

A Long History of Solar

SolarWorld has been manufacturing solar panels in the USA since 1975. Back then, the price of oil was $13 dollars a barrel, and gas was $0.44 a gallon at the pump. Gerald Ford was president of the US, and “The Six Million Dollar Man” was the most popular TV show.

A New Beginning

In October 2018, SunPower completed their purchase of SolarWorld USA. SunPower CEO Tom Werner said that due to the US solar tariffs, the purchase would “align SunPower with the current administration”. SunPower P-series cells are made in China and the panels are currently assembled in Mexico. As a result, they had been paying $2M a week in tariffs, that ironically, SolarWorld was instrumental in creating. SunPower requested an exemption from the tariff, claiming their cells were unique, and not possible to buy in the US. In September 2018, they won the exclusion from the tariff. Now with the purchase of SolarWorld’s manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, OR, they can make tariff exempt American-assembled solar panels. SunPower has dissolved the SolarWorld name and panels, and all panels made in the Hillsboro facility will now be their SunPower P-series panels.

2016 SolarWorld plant tour with Amy’s family

Goodbye Old Friends

The altE Store has a long history of selling SolarWorld panels. We are currently almost out of the last batch of SolarWorld panels. Due to SunPower’s distribution model, we are not able to sell SunPower solar panels. If you have bought SolarWorld panels in the past, don’t worry. They have a 3rd party warranty that gives you independent protection. Simply email [email protected] for details if needed.

Hello New

Solar Panel Manufacturers

After discussing priorities with our customers, and meeting with many Tier 1 solar panel manufacturers, we determined that we could not find another Made in USA solar panel that currently fits our requirements of price/performance, balance and availability. We are focusing on selling mostly Canadian Solar, Hanwha Q-cell, and Panasonic solar panels. At this time, none of these are made in USA. But one thing that is constant is change, and we are in touch with all of the solar manufacturers. When a Made in the USA panel is readily available at a good price, we will once again proudly sell them.

About Author

Amy Beaudet
Amy Beaudet was in the solar industry at the altE Store from 2007 until her untimely passing in 2021. She was a sales rep, instructor, and an all-around solar evangelist, sharing her passion for solar around the world. When whe wasn't at work, she enjoyed sailing and skiing - but odds were good she was still talking about solar on the boat or on the slopes. See more of Amy Beaudet's blog posts.