“However, the PV market is more
complex than meets the eye. To completely understand solar trade flows,
this report looks both at earlier steps
in the value chain and at the nonpanel
components of a solar PV system. As
our research shows, the U.S. remains a
focal point in global PV manufacturing,”
Kann said.
Rhone Resch, president and CEO of
SEIA, added, “In 2010, we [U.S. solar
industry] grew by over 100 percent, we
achieved a significant positive trade bal-
ance, and we exported more goods and
services to China than we imported.
Solar energy is an industry invented in
the U.S. that is helping our country re-
claim our manufacturing leadership and
creating tens of thousands of jobs.”
Today the solar industry employs
more than 100,000 Americans—dou-
ble that in 2009. They work at 5,600
companies, most of them small busi-
nesses, and in all 50 states, the as-
sociation reported.
12 Points of Entry
The solar industr y is so much more than modules and panels,
the report indicates. There exists an entire galaxy around the
solar energy system, if you will, from the machines used to
cut the cells to the framing and mounting systems, inverters,
and installation collateral, and other forms of solar energy
generation.
1.Panel Frames. Johnson Bros., Berkeley, Ill., manufac- tures aluminum solar panel frames using a metal fabrication process called roll forming. A solar frame will vary
in strength, based on its intended use and the weight of the
panels it will hold. The manufacturer also makes high-alloy
stainless steel frames and roll formed reflector shapes and
troughs.
shown in “Net zero energy electrifies sign-maker,” Jan./Feb.
issue, p. 14).
With manufacturing facilities located in Ohio and Canada,
AET has the shortest lead-time in the industry, the company
says.
Photos courtesy of Johnson Bros., Berkeley, Ill.
2.Panel Mounting Systems. The solar panel mounting provides stability and the proper directional and latitudinal orientation for the solar array. About 94 percent of
installed PV solar systems in the U.S. are installed onto U.S-made or -assembled solar panel mounting systems—an integral component in a solar system, according to the SEIA
report.
Applied Energy Technologies, Clinton Township, Mich.,
manufactures racks that fit all major solar modules, including
stainless steel roof ballast, frameless, ground-mount pole,
pitched roof PV rail, and custom systems (see the racking
Unirac, Albuquerque, N.M., recently introduced the new-
est generation of its commercial installations infrastructure,
Because manu-
facturing time is
reduced by as much
as 50 percent with the C-
channel beams, project ramp-up
time can be improved. The new beams
can also be stacked
interlocked, saving
Image courtesy of Renusol America,
Atlanta.
