How this Georgia factory is surviving America’s solar policy whiplash

A solar panel factory in Cartersville, Georgia, run by Qcells, is expanding to handle the entire production process in one place, from raw polysilicon to finished panels. It's part of a broader push to build up U.S. solar manufacturing, which has long been dominated by cheaper Chinese-made panels. Starting in December, the Trump administration will add new tariffs and set minimum import prices on polysilicon, the key material used to make solar cells, in an effort to help U.S. manufacturers compete.

This marks a shift in approach. The Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act offered tax credit bonuses for projects using U.S.-made panels, which is part of why Qcells built its Georgia plant. Last year's federal tax and spending law revoked most of those credits but also made panels from certain countries, including China, ineligible for what remains. Combined with the new tariffs, this raises costs for Chinese imports and could help domestic manufacturers, though experts say the constant policy changes make it harder for companies to plan.

For homeowners, the near-term picture is mixed. Federal tax credits that once encouraged clean energy projects have been rolled back, and some solar and wind developments have lost funding or stalled. At the same time, solar remains one of the cheapest ways to add electricity to the grid, and it made up 90 percent of new power capacity added in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year. Experts expect solar to keep growing, but costs, availability, and where panels are made could keep shifting as policies change.