A conversation with SolarEdge’s Senior Director of C&I Products and Applications on domestic content demand, the case for Power Optimizers, and where storage is headed in the commercial and industrial market.
Company: SolarEdge
Focus: Commercial and industrial (C&I) solar inverters and energy storage
Featuring: Kleber Facchini – Sr. Director, C&I Products and Applications
Show Presence: Engaging with developers and EPCs on SolarEdge’s C&I products, domestic content compliance, and the company’s new PV-plus-storage offering
During Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) Midwest, Digital Editor Krista Simicich spoke with Kleber Facchini, Senior Director of C&I Products and Applications at SolarEdge, about the technology behind the company’s inverters, current market trends, and where the C&I segment is headed next.
A Segment Growing Fast, and Racing a Deadline
Facchini heads SolarEdge’s C&I products in North America, a segment he said is growing quickly, especially in community solar. Much of that growth can be attributed to domestic content requirements.
SolarEdge’s C&I products meet FEOC (Foreign Entity of Concern) compliance standards along with domestic content rules, and Facchini said that’s translated into a lot of customer interest from developers looking to qualify for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) domestic content bonus.
That interest accelerated as the industry approached the Safe Harbor deadline on July 4. “We’ve added significantly to our business with Safe Harbor,” Facchini said, describing a surge tied directly to developers racing to lock in eligibility before the deadline passed.
For projects that didn’t establish beginning of construction by July 4, 2026, customers can still qualify for the 40% ITC by placing the project in service on or before December 31, 2027.
The Case for Power Optimizers
When asked what sets SolarEdge apart on the commercial side, Facchini pointed to the company’s core architecture: Power Optimizers paired with an inverter, rather than a traditional string inverter setup.
For domestic content applications, SolarEdge uses one Power Optimizer per module. For ground-mount systems using the SolarEdge TerraMax™ 1500V Inverter, it’s one Power Optimizer for every two modules.
Facchini laid out three concrete advantages this design offers over a traditional string inverter:
Lower balance of system costs. Because the architecture allows for longer strings with fewer modules per string, it reduces the amount of wiring and labor needed, cutting down on balance of system costs by up to 50%.
Higher energy production over time. Since SolarEdge harvests energy at the module level, the system handles module mismatch better than a traditional string inverter, where output is constrained by the weakest-performing module in the string. That gap tends to widen as panels age.
There’s also a resilience benefit: if one optimizer fails, it gets bypassed, and the rest of the string keeps producing. In a traditional string setup, one failed module can take down the whole string which can affect production of the system significantly.
Stronger O&M visibility. Because Power Optimizers sit at the module level, SolarEdge can pull real-time, granular data on system performance, including issues like soiling or a malfunctioning module. Facchini contrasted that with traditional monitoring approaches that might require waiting months, or flying a drone, to spot the same problem.
A Track Record Built on Long-Term Value
SolarEdge’s Power Optimizer technology has been proven in the field for years.
Developers and asset owners who plan to hold projects for their full lifecycle consistently choose SolarEdge, drawn by savings on balance of system costs, energy production, and operations and maintenance that add up over the life of a project. It’s particularly effective in community solar applications.
It’s a long-term value case, one that Facchini said resonates most with buyers thinking beyond the initial purchase.
Where the C&I Market Is Headed
Facchini pointed to two trends shaping the C&I market right now. The first is the continued push toward domestic content compliance, which he expects to be a lasting requirement rather than a short-term response to policy changes.
The second is a growing shift toward energy storage. Facchini said Illinois has seen a notable increase in storage applications, particularly with ground-mount systems, while other states are seeing similar momentum for different reasons. California’s shift to its net billing tariff has driven higher attachment rates for storage paired with solar, and Massachusetts is seeing a similar trend.
SolarEdge launched its own C&I PV-plus-storage solution this year to meet that demand, pairing SolarEdge inverters and its ONE energy management system with batteries from its storage partner, Socomec.
What Facchini Wants Developers to Remember
For developers and EPCs encountering SolarEdge for the first time, Facchini’s message comes down to two things: where the equipment is built, and what it’s built to do.
On the first, the company manufactures in the United States and meets FEOC and domestic content requirements, a distinction that matters more than ever as developers race to qualify for ITC bonuses.
Secondly, SolarEdge isn’t selling just an inverter. It’s selling the whole system, monitoring, controls, and energy storage included, on top of the balance of system, energy production, and O&M advantages built into its core architecture.
In short: don’t just buy hardware. Buy a solution built to perform over the life of the project.
Interested in learning more about SolarEdge’s C&I and storage solutions? Visit their website at solaredge.com/us to explore their full product lineup.
This feature is part of our ongoing post-show recap coverage from the 2026 IESNA Midwest conference and trade show, spotlighting the companies, products, and people bringing innovation to the exhibit hall floor.
