Key Takeaways
How will the new solar tariffs affect the cost of solar? The new 15% Section 232 tariff on imported polysilicon and related solar products, along with new minimum import prices, is expected to increase solar equipment costs while giving U.S. manufacturers a competitive advantage. Imported modules could rise by roughly $0.14/W, potentially adding about $1,400 to a 10 kW system. Installers may benefit from strategic procurement, while homeowners and businesses could face higher prices as the market adjusts.
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The solar-coaster continues to roll on, and the latest round of tariffs on solar imports was just announced. This new round has an immediate effect on solar installers, manufacturers, and homeowners, but could be a win for domestic manufacturing.
On August 6th, 2026, the White House signed a Section 232 proclamation imposing a 15% tariff on imports of polysilicon and related products across the solar supply chain. In addition, the new proclamation set a price floor for the import of these materials. That includes components like ingots, wafers, solar cells, and full solar modules.
As with any tariff, this move immediately increases costs across the supply chain, but some domestic manufacturers are celebrating this move as a win for domestically produced solar equipment. Let’s explore what’s being implemented and what the effects might be.
Table of Contents
What’s Actually Changing?
This move aims to bolster the US solar equipment manufacturing industry by setting minimum import prices for both raw polysilicon and finished components made with polysilicon.
The new minimum prices are set at:
- $21 per kilogram for polysilicon
- $100 per kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers
- $0.22 per watt for solar cells
- $0.38 per watt for solar modules
In addition to the price floors, there is a 15% tariff on the import of these materials. This means prices are now substantially higher for imported equipment when accounting for the new minimum and additional taxes.
Why Are These Tariffs Being Implemented
Clearly, these new tariffs are meant to support the growing US solar manufacturing industry. The White House cited threats to US national security due to the industry’s heavy reliance on imported polysilicon.
There’s an important distinction in manufacturing: the difference between “made in the USA” and “assembled in the USA”. Products that are simply assembled here have the raw components imported, and then the finished module is assembled in a plant in the US. Fully made in the US are products that are end-to-end manufactured onshore. Some manufacturers chose to simply assemble in the US because of tariffs on full modules.
Until recently, the vast majority of solar equipment manufacturing happened overseas. In some cases, equipment was imported because it was lower cost. In other cases, however, some equipment simply couldn’t be made in the US because we didn’t have the manufacturing capacity to do so. According to the latest SEIA market insight report, the US currently has a 3 GW (gigawatt) cell manufacturing capacity, but installed over 43 GW in 2025.
In years past, tariffs have been placed on solar equipment coming from certain countries or on all imports, but this new price floor is the most direct move so far to give US manufacturers a competitive edge.
Some companies, like Tesla, Generac, Qcells, Mission Solar, and Fortress Power, have been manufacturing and assembling in the US for a long time with success.
But one of the core reasons there isn’t as much US manufacturing is because companies struggled to keep up with vast quantities of low-cost equipment being imported. Because consumers generally want the lowest prices possible, many installers turned to lower-cost, imported goods.
By setting new minimums across the entire polysilicon supply chain, loopholes that would allow companies to import components and simply assemble them in the US without fully producing them are avoided. Now, the only way to avoid these floors and tariffs would be to manufacture end-to-end in the US fully.
So while new minimum prices and tariffs do support the domestic solar manufacturing industry, until more manufacturing capacity comes online, these policies mean end consumers will face potentially significant price increases.
The Immediate Impact on Prices
Reporting in PV Magazine notes that research done by Roth Capital Partners found that average selling prices for solar will be adjusted higher post-tariff.
They note that for manufacturers importing solar cells, prices are expected to increase roughly $0.11/W. For manufacturers importing both wafers and finished cells, prices are expected to increase by $0.05/W. Fully ready-for-the-roof solar module imports are expected to jump roughly $0.14/W.
Seeing the increases in cents per watt don’t seem too big, but once applied to a full installation, you can see a big difference.
Let’s take a system pre-section 232 tariffs with a cost of $3.00/W. For a 10 kW system, that comes to $30,000. Post-232 tariffs, if these modules were imported and the end price is now $3.14/W, that would bring the total cost to $31,400.
Not a massive price jump, but at the end of the day, it is an additional cost for the end user who is trying to save on already soaring energy prices.
What Can Be Done?
Solar Installers
For solar installers, your best bet to avoid raising prices is to buy and warehouse equipment, if you can, before the December 4th deadline. Equipment purchased before then won’t be subject to new tariffs. However, don’t panic buy. Buying equipment because prices will go up without a pipeline to support it is unnecessary expenditure. Talk with your distribution partners to accurately forecast your needs.
Companies with documented country-of-origin practices, clean contracts, and real relationships with domestic or compliant manufacturers will move through this transition faster than operators who’ve been sourcing on price alone, with no paper trail.
That’s the Energy Service Provider pattern showing up again, just in procurement instead of installation. The businesses built on documentation, relationships, and long-term thinking are the ones built for moments like this.
Home and Business Owners
For homeowners and business owners looking to go solar, the best bet to avoid higher prices is to move forward with a solar contract sooner rather than later. End-of-the-year pipelines always fill up fast, and waiting longer increases the risk of higher prices.
If you’re looking to go solar, make sure to do so with a Solar Insure Certified Provider so your residential or commercial system can be protected with an independent warranty covering parts, labor, and manufacturer/instller default. Find a Solar Insure Certified Provider near you: https://www.solarinsure.com/find-a-certified-provider
As with most tariffs and supply situations, the market remains fluid. The White House’s statement also notes that the US Trade Representative can enter into agreements with specific trading partners that could alter the tariffs and price floors. The Secretary of Commerce can also establish new incentives for companies that bring production to the US.
The Overall Takeaway
Overall, there are positives and negatives to the new price floors and tariffs being implemented.
On the positive side, price floors and tariffs on imported goods will help domestic manufacturing become more price-competitive. Long-term, these changes could help bring more solar equipment manufacturing to the US.
On the negative side, until more capacity becomes available for US-manufactured goods, end-users will face higher prices for their solar installations, which puts additional stress on an industry recovering from the tax credit loss.
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