Finding
Monocrystalline n-type panels have won the market, and the polycrystalline panel is effectively obsolete
ITRPV counts about 706 GW of modules shipped in 2025, nearly all monocrystalline silicon, with TOPCon and heterojunction panels near 23.5% efficiency and back-contact panels near 24%. Polycrystalline panels, once the low-cost utility choice, have disappeared from mainstream production.
For a site buyer, panel choice now comes down to three things: efficiency per square meter (it matters on a roof, much less on open land), bifacial gain (5-10% more energy over bright ground or white roofs), and origin. Origin drives tariffs, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detentions, domestic-content bonuses and foreign-entity-of-concern rules on US tax credits. First Solar's cadmium telluride panels are the one large US product with no Chinese polysilicon, wafer or cell in the chain; most US-assembled silicon panels still use imported cells.
The four largest module shippers are Chinese - JinkoSolar, LONGi, JA Solar and Trina - and module prices have run below cost since 2024. US makers sell into a protected market on the strength of tariffs and the 45X production credit.
Technologies
Panel technologies
Corrected for 2026: polycrystalline is legacy, and concentrated PV is a lab niche.
| Technology | What it is | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Monocrystalline (TOPCon, BC, HJT) | Single-crystal n-type silicon cells; 22-24% module efficiency | Almost every new rooftop, commercial and utility project |
| Bifacial | Glass rear lets the cells collect reflected light; most n-type panels are now bifacial | Ground-mount and tracker plants, carports, white commercial roofs |
| CdTe thin film | Cadmium telluride on glass; better hot-weather and low-light behavior | US utility plants; First Solar Series 6 and Series 7 |
| BIPV | PV built into glass, facades or roof tiles | Architectural projects; Tesla Solar Roof, facade glass makers |
| CIGS thin film | Copper indium gallium selenide; flexible, lower efficiency | Flexible and specialty products; small market |
| Polycrystalline (legacy) | Multi-crystal p-type silicon | No longer in mainstream production |
| Concentrated PV (CPV) | Lenses or mirrors focus sunlight on multi-junction cells; needs precise tracking | Largely abandoned for terrestrial power; space cells use the same multi-junction chemistry |
Makers
Who builds solar panels, and where US panels are made
US factories first, with sites and nameplate capacity; then the largest makers worldwide, most of them Chinese. Companies with both appear in both tables.
US module factories
| Company | US plants | HQ | Technology | US capacity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boviet Solar | Greenville, North Carolina | Vietnam | Monocrystalline; cell plant in a second phase | 2 GW of modules | active: Owned by China's Boway Group |
| Canadian Solar | Mesquite, Texas (modules); Jeffersonville, Indiana (cells) | Canada | n-type TOPCon | 5 GW of modules | active: Indiana cell plant built to feed the Texas module line |
| Corning | Phoenix, Arizona | US | Monocrystalline; US wafer supply planned from Corning's Michigan plant | 2 GW | active: Bought the plant from JA Solar in July 2025 |
| First Solar | Perrysburg and Lake Township, Ohio; Lawrence County, Alabama; Iberia Parish, Louisiana; Gaffney, South Carolina (finishing line) | US | Cadmium telluride thin film; no polysilicon, wafer or cell step | About 14 GW in Ohio, Alabama and Louisiana; 3.7 GW South Carolina line from 2026 | active: The one large US module maker with no Chinese silicon in the chain |
| Hanwha Qcells | Dalton, Georgia (modules); Cartersville, Georgia (ingot, wafer, cell and module) | South Korea | Monocrystalline n-type; perovskite tandem pilot in Korea | About 8.4 GW of modules (Dalton 5.1 GW, Cartersville 3.3 GW) | active: Cartersville ingot, wafer and cell ramp slipped into 2026 |
| Heliene | Mountain Iron and Rogers, Minnesota | Canada | Monocrystalline | active | |
| Illuminate USA | Pataskala, Ohio | US | Monocrystalline; imported cells | 5 GW | active: Joint venture of LONGi and Invenergy |
| JinkoSolar | Jacksonville, Florida | China | n-type TOPCon; imported cells | 2 GW | active |
| Mission Solar Energy | San Antonio, Texas | US | Monocrystalline | active: Owned by South Korea's OCI Holdings | |
| SEG Solar | Houston, Texas | US | Monocrystalline; imported cells | 2 GW | active |
| Silfab Solar | Bellingham and Burlington, Washington; Fort Mill, South Carolina | Canada | Monocrystalline; cell line in South Carolina | active | |
| T1 Energy | G1 Dallas, Wilmer, Texas (modules); G2 Austin, Rockdale, Texas (cells, under construction) | US | n-type TOPCon under a Trina Solar technology license | 5 GW of modules | active: Formerly FREYR Battery; bought the Wilmer plant from Trina Solar in December 2024 |
| Tesla | Buffalo, New York | US | Monocrystalline; integrated roof tiles | active: Small volume next to utility makers | |
| Waaree Solar Americas | Brookshire, Texas | India | Monocrystalline; imported cells | 1.6 GW, expanding to 3.2 GW | active: US arm of India's largest module maker |
| Maxeon Solar Technologies | Albuquerque, New Mexico (planned cell and module plant) | Singapore | Back contact (IBC) and TOPCon | 2 GW planned | planned: Controlled by China's TCL Zhonghuan; US imports were held by CBP in 2024-25 |
| Meyer Burger | Goodyear, Arizona | Switzerland | Heterojunction (HJT) | 2 GW | closed: US plant shut in 2025 after the parent's insolvency |
Largest makers worldwide
| Company | Products | HQ | Plants | Technology | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adani Solar | Modules | India | India (Mundra) | TOPCon | active: Ingot-to-module complex at Mundra |
| Aiko | ABC modules | China | China | Back contact (ABC), copper metallization | active |
| Astronergy | ASTRO N modules | China | China, Thailand, Indonesia | n-type TOPCon | active: Chint Group subsidiary |
| Canadian Solar | TOPCon modules | Canada | China, Thailand, US | n-type TOPCon | active: Most manufacturing is in China and Southeast Asia |
| DAS Solar | Modules | China | China | n-type TOPCon | active |
| GCL System Integration | Modules | China | China | n-type TOPCon; perovskite tandem pilot in the GCL group | active |
| Huasun | Modules | China | China | Heterojunction (HJT) | active |
| JA Solar | DeepBlue modules | China | China, Vietnam; Oman under construction | n-type TOPCon | active: Among the four largest module shippers; sold its Arizona plant to Corning in 2025 |
| JinkoSolar | Tiger Neo modules | China | China, Vietnam, Malaysia, US | n-type TOPCon | active: Among the four largest module shippers |
| LONGi Green Energy | Hi-MO modules | China | China, Malaysia, Vietnam; US through Illuminate USA | Back contact (HPBC 2.0) | active: Largest wafer maker; moved its module roadmap to back contact |
| Risen Energy | Hyper-ion modules | China | China | Heterojunction (HJT) | active |
| Tongwei | Modules | China | China | TOPCon and HJT | active: Largest cell maker and a top polysilicon producer |
| Trina Solar | Vertex N modules | China | China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia | n-type TOPCon (i-TOPCon) | active: Among the four largest module shippers; sold its Texas plant to T1 Energy in 2024 |
| Waaree Energies | Modules | India | India, US | TOPCon and PERC | active: India's largest module maker |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Solar Panels
- Sources
- ITRPV 17th edition (VDMA, 2026); First Solar product data; PV Tech Research US capacity
- Updated
- October 2026