Want Solar Panels on Your Roof? How to Navigate Market and Tariff Chaos
With several big solar companies in turmoil and tariffs that can change daily, choosing the right installer is crucial. Here’s what you need to know.
A worker installs solar panels on a home in Napa, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergGoogle “solar panels for my house” and big national companies like SunPower and Tesla appear near the top of the search. But SunPower went bankrupt last year and Tesla’s solar business has shrunk. Another powerhouse, Sunnova, is teetering on the edge of insolvency.
The eclipse of many of these brand-name residential solar firms, which supplied about 25% of the US market, comes at a time when the country has raised tariffs on solar panels as much as 3,521% and states like California have slashed homeowner subsidies. President Donald Trump has also threatened to eliminate a 30% tax credit for installing solar systems, a key incentive that’s helped bring the sector into the mainstream.