LG Departs Solar Business: What It Means

LG (short for Longi Green Energy Technology Co.), the Korean electronics manufacturer, announced that it will be departing from the solar panel business by June 2022. This is important news and we’ll be seeing the impact for years to come. Let’s talk about what that means for your LG solar panels, and the solar industry as a whole.

Bloomberg previously reported detained shipments detained by United States customs over human rights accusations of forced labor, and suggested this would drive up the cost and demand for solar panels in our country.

The reasoning behind this was that the manufacturer in China’s Xinjiang region provides nearly half the world’s supply of polysilicon, a significant material used in the creation of solar panels. LG is one of many manufacturers relying on the Xinjiang region’s manufacturing.

The United States began detaining shipments in an effort to combat the forced labor to be taking place in the region, which means any manufacturer relying on Xinjian manufacturers will face similar challenges.

LG’s exit cites increased price competition and manufacturing costs as a contributing factor in exiting the solar space. As one of the world’s largest solar companies, this is a significant change with long-term consequences for the industry. Homeowners with LG modules will run into issues with receiving support, and may ultimately need to change their panels to a different supplier.

This also erases over 600MW of product capacity from the market. To put this into perspective, a single megawatt (MW) satisfies the needs of between 400 and 900 homes over the course of an entire year. That makes the total product capacity lost roughly enough to power a quarter to a half million homes for the year.

While these are striking numbers, volatility within the solar energy market is nothing new. In fact, many providers go out of business over the past 35+ years. The average lifespan of solar panels is 25 years – and many providers have not been able to stay in the business that long.

While nobody likes to think about malfunctions or repairs, it’s sound piece of mind to have a warranty you can rely on. A warranty from a company that gets wiped off the map is not particularly useful.

That’s why we are a proud dealer of Sunpower solar panels, another heavy player in solar energy. Sunpower uses the highly efficient, premium tier Maxeon cell technology. Maxeon is headquartered in Singapore and manufactures outside of China entirely. As a result, Sunpower has been unaffected by these recent developments.

Sunpower is the only company with a warranty that covers the entire system, and for the entire lifespan of the system. And yes – the company has been around 35+ years, long enough for homeowners to call in their warranties.

If you’re interested in the differences between solar systems, and which system would best suit your home in the long-term, contact Greenlogic today. We are a NYSERDA Quality Solar Installer and have been helping Long Island benefit from the cost savings of solar energy since 2005, streamlining the process for home and business owners to go solar. GreenLogic partners with townships such as Easthampton, offering group rates below market prices.