The Build America, Buy America Act requires that federal investments prioritize products produced in the U.S.
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc., a global provider of solar inverters, module-level power electronics, and battery energy storage, announced that its U.S.-manufactured solar inverter portfolio has achieved Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act compliance.
The BABA Act, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, established a domestic content procurement preference for all federal financial assistance obligated for infrastructure projects after May 14, 2022. The BABA Act requires federal investments to prioritize products produced in the U.S. in order to boost domestic manufacturing and jobs.
For SolarEdge, this milestone means it can participate in federal infrastructure projects, including federally funded grants and projects, while supporting domestic manufacturing and job creation across its facilities in Florida and Texas.
The BABA-compliant portfolio includes the 480V and 208V three-phase inverters and three- phase inverters with Synergy Technology with C651U and C652U power optimizers, as well as the Single Phase SolarEdge Home Hub inverters and U650 Power Optimizers.
The BABA-compliant portfolio includes the 480 V and 208 V three-phase inverters, and the three-phase inverters with Synergy Technology with C651U and C652U power optimizers, as well as the single-phase SolarEdge Home Hub inverters and U650 power optimizers.
By achieving compliance with BABA for its planned DC-optimized inverter solutions, SolarEdge reported that it will support developers and EPCs in meeting federal infrastructure requirements.
“By manufacturing these advanced systems domestically and achieving BABA compliance, our C&I inverter solution in particular will be able to promote the deployment of premium U.S. solar technology across federal infrastructure projects, supporting American jobs and innovation,” said John Carroll, Vice President, C&I North America at SolarEdge Technologies.
SolarEdge is now manufacturing inverters, optimizers and batteries in the U.S. and reported that it has already created nearly 2000 jobs at its facilities. A SolarEdge spokesperson told pv magazine USA that its Austin facility ramped up to a run rate capacity of over 70,000 inverters per quarter and its Florida facility is on track to reach a capacity of 2 million optimizers per quarter, starting in Q1 2025.
The ramp up of U.S. manufacturing allowed the signing of Safe Harbor agreements with two residential customers in late December, the spokesperson said. The company also started to ramp up its domestic content, commercial inverter manufacturing, with initial volumes expected at the end of the first quarter. This is enabling the company to supply domestic content products to large-scale commercial rooftop solar, as evidenced by a recent supply agreement it forged with Summit Ridge Energy, a large commercial and industrial developer.
Earlier this month SolarEdge reported heavy losses for the full year 2024 but beat revenue expectations for Q4, 2024. Stocks rose higher on the news. The company’s struggles are not isolated to the company but are rather a symptom of an overall down market for distributed solar globally. 2024 was a difficult year for SolarEdge, which saw revenues fall 40% to $18 billion. The company announced it was pursuing leaner operations and a focus on cash flow efficiency. In January, it announced layoffs of about 900 people, which is about 16% of its workforce.
