At Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) Flagship 2026, a panel of domestic solar manufacturers took on a question that sounds simple but isn’t: where will the industry’s products be made, here or abroad?
Sterling Clifford of Jinko Solar offered the most direct prescription in the room. Tax credits have helped launch U.S. factories, but they won’t last forever, and the facilities built on them have to hold up on their own.
“The solar industry broadly needs to make investments that are financially viable with or without tax credits. To have a facility that can churn out a cost-competitive quality product regardless, that’s the space we all need to be in,” Clifford said.
It’s a useful reminder that a factory’s real test comes after the incentives end. Demand is strong and hiring has gone better than expected, but panelists noted that once the credits expire, there’s no domestic content requirement to keep cheaper imports out.
They agreed on what would help most: policy that holds steady beyond a single tax credit window or administration.
Check out the complete session recap, including the panel’s reaction to FEOC guidance, what Qcells credits for its $2.5 billion Georgia facility, and the panel’s take on Elon Musk’s 100-GW cell factory plans, here.
