Section 232 minimum import prices force foreign solar to match U.S. production costs

The federal government has set new price floors and tariffs on imported solar panel materials, meant to stop foreign-made equipment from underselling U.S.-made products. The rules cover polysilicon, wafers, cells, and finished panels, adding a 15% tariff plus minimum prices for each stage of production. Officials can raise these price floors further, and there's no exemption for major manufacturing countries like Vietnam.

For homeowners, the practical effect is likely higher prices for solar panels. Analysts expect the cost of a U.S.-assembled panel to rise to around $0.35 per watt if manufacturers keep their usual profit margins, since most panel assemblers still rely on imported cells (over 90% of cells used in U.S.-made panels come from overseas). Companies that source cells from operations they own overseas may be able to keep prices a bit lower, around $0.30 to $0.33 per watt, but standalone U.S. assembly plants without their own cell supply are expected to feel the most pressure.

Industry analysts don't expect much new U.S. factory investment in cells or wafers soon, since new plants take years to build and federal manufacturing tax credits are set to shrink before those plants could open. That combination is expected to push up solar costs and reduce the number of large-scale solar projects built between 2027 and 2030. Trade groups representing solar installers and developers opposed the tariffs, warning they'll raise costs for households, while domestic panel makers praised the move as support for American manufacturing jobs. If you're weighing a home solar installation in the next few years, expect equipment costs to be part of that shifting picture.