{"id":100279,"date":"2022-10-31T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/?p=100279"},"modified":"2023-03-01T08:51:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T13:51:21","slug":"ira-credits-will-boost-domestic-solar-tracker-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/2022\/10\/ira-credits-will-boost-domestic-solar-tracker-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"IRA credits will boost domestic solar tracker manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Domestic solar tracker manufacturing is bound to increase thanks to the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which includes manufacturing tax credits for components found on solar trackers. The federal spending package will provide manufacturers with credits for torque tubes and structural fasteners produced on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Credit: OMCO Solar\/Aerial Agents<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think the expectation is those manufacturer tax credits will trigger any tracker manufacturer that has offshored [production of] torque tubes or structural fasteners to onshore them,\u201d said Ed McKiernan, president of Terrasmart<\/a>, a turnkey manufacturer of solar racking, piles and electrical balance of systems. \u201cAs that happens, the end customers, the owner-operators of these arrays, they\u2019re going to want to compete for lower prices. What you\u2019re probably going to see is tracker prices becoming even more competitive, relative to fixed-tilt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IRA specifically cites tracker systems and not fixed-tilt racking, as the former is the primary solar structure deployed on large- or utility-scale projects in the United States. Solar trackers produce more energy than a fixed-tilt system in a similar project footprint because the racking rotates and points modules toward the sun throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Manufacturing production credits will provide $0.87\/kg for torque tubes and $2.28\/kg for structural fasteners. Both components are typically fabricated from steel.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that there was industry input into the IRA for the manufacturing tax credit of trackers, how you measure that is probably the challenge,\u201d said Gary Schuster, CEO of OMCO Solar, a domestic racking manufacturer. \u201cHaving said that, they concluded to measure that by pounds of torque tube that goes in a tracker, which is very logical, because it is a common denominator of manufacturing a tracker. I don\u2019t know how else you would have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Credit: Terrasmart<\/p><\/div>\n

Torque tubes are the rotating portion of a tracker that extends the entirety of the tracker row and hosts both panel rails and the panels themselves.<\/p>\n

Structural fasteners have multiple purposes. According to the IRA, they connect torque tubes together, connect drive assemblies to torque tubes and connect mechanical and drive systems to solar tracker foundations. Schuster estimated that structural fasteners compose about 10 to 15% of a tracker\u2019s total makeup.<\/p>\n

While not included in the manufacturing production credits section of the IRA, ground-mounted fixed-tilt solar racking \u2014 and other solar hardware \u2014 is still incentivized through the investment tax credit (ITC) \u201cdomestic content bonus.\u201d Solar arrays built with at least 40% of components that were manufactured in the United States can qualify for the domestic content bonus, which will boost a system\u2019s tax credit an additional 10%. If projects meet other apprenticeship and prevailing wage requirements, system owners could receive a 40% tax credit on their array.<\/p>\n

Manufacturers are emphasizing this option for fixed-tilt racking because it is primarily, if not entirely, made of steel. Steel fabrication is an active U.S. industry, and the domestic content credit just asks that steel-based components are manufactured in the United States, not including<\/a> any metal additives in the refinement process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got to achieve a threshold for the entire project of domestic content, and, in many cases, they\u2019re going to struggle to get there with modules and inverters,\u201d McKiernan said. \u201cNow, there are domestic alternatives there, but those are very limited and very oversold for the next several years. What we expect customers to do is really focus on mechanical and electrical balance of system so they can meet those domestic content requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of publication, the Dept. of the Treasury is requesting input for implementing and delivering the clean energy tax incentives found in the IRA. Questions remain on the specifics of prevailing wage requirements, product qualifications for tax incentives and the overall timeline of the IRA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing is not only the guidance on the domestic content definition, but then also the timing of the first projects,\u201d said Eric Goodwin, director of business development at OMCO. \u201cA lot of customers have questions on exactly when can I get this credit and put it forward? Will it be first quarter? Is it going to be Jan. 1? Is it going to be retroactive? We\u2019re having customers ask for us to make that definition on the tracker components, but again, we really have to stand by and wait until that\u2019s confirmed at the treasury level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Domestic solar tracker manufacturing is bound to increase thanks to the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which includes manufacturing tax credits for components found on solar trackers. The federal spending package will provide manufacturers with credits for torque tubes and structural fasteners produced on U.S. soil. \u201cI think the expectation is those manufacturer tax credits…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19854,"featured_media":100280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[640,3004,3010,1690,1697],"tags":[5544,4265,2092,5463],"yoast_head":"\nIRA credits will boost domestic solar tracker manufacturing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Domestic solar tracker manufacturing is bound to increase thanks to the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which includes manufacturing tax credits\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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