Solar racking provider TerraSmart and thin-film Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) solar manufacturer First Solar will collaborate on a ground-mount solar offering which they claim can “confidently” meet domestic content bonus requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Terrasmart said it has integrated its fixed-tilt racks and single-axis tracker products with First Solar’s Series 7 TR1 CdTe solar modules for ground-mounted solar PV installations. It claims that the partnership subsequently “delivers a uniquely comprehensive domestically produced ground-mount offering for America’s solar market.”
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The IRA’s domestic content bonus credit offers a 10% tax break to solar projects that use a minimum of 40% US-made components. The threshold, which will rise to 55% next year, is based on the total cost of components. There is some uncertainty over the future of IRA funding under the new Trump administration.
Buffalo, New York-based Terrasmart said its racking and tracking products are made with “100% American-produced structural steel and iron” and use “a majority of domestically sourced manufactured components”.
First Solar’s CdTe technology means its modules can be produced with a high level of US domestic content compared with its silicon-based competitors. The company operates the largest solar module manufacturing footprint in the western hemisphere and plans to reach 14GW of nameplate capacity in the US by 2026.
“First Solar’s collaboration with Terrasmart’s engineering teams has delivered a high-quality, cost-effective mounting solution,” says First Solar applications engineer Fritz Hittner. “Their broad suite of US-made ground-mount structures allow for fast and effective system installation while focusing on long-term durability across 1P tracker, fixed tilt and carport market segments.”
US companies have increasingly begun to offer balance of system components designed to meet the domestic content adder. Beyond the solar modules themselves, products and deals have been announced for US-made inverters, frames and trackers to attract developers and project owners seeking the 10% bonus. PV Tech published a blog from the head of the Ultra Low Carbon Solar Alliance exploring the auxiliary component manufacturers in the US solar industry.
First Solar backs Missouri tellurium research
In other news, First Solar has established an endowed professorship at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) which it said will enhance the US’ critical mineral security.
First Solar’s thin-film CdTe technology relies on a supply of tellurium and cadmium. Tellurium is a rare element primarily produced as a byproduct of electrolytic copper production, and China currently dominates global tellurium production.
First Solar said it has collaborated with Missouri S&T on critical mineral and tellurium supply for the last decade.
Michael Moats, professor and chair of materials science and engineering at S&T, said: “The fact is, other economies dominate the global market for certain elements, and when restrictions are placed on those elements, there’s the potential to disrupt manufacturing, slow down our fight against climate change and impact our national security. By ensuring that extractive metallurgy is taught at a college level, First Solar is helping us address these challenges.”
