Solar PV manufacturer Qcells has unveiled new, US-produced versions of two residential AC solar panels, Q.TRON AC and Q.PEAK DUO AC, by the end of 2026.
The panels will feature aluminium frames from a supplier, Korean aluminium extrusion company ALUKO Group, via its plant in Halls, Lauderdale County, Tennessee. ALUKO Group’s manufacturing plants are the only facilities in the US that can extrude, anodise, and manufacture module frames.
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By the end of 2026, the Lauderdale facility will be able to produce enough frames to equip 4GW of solar modules. The company plans to create 285 new jobs and invest more than $107 million in Tennessee over the next five years.
Qcells’ all-US sourced panels will help project owners meet the minimum domestic content requirement of 55% that will be applicable for projects beginning construction in 2027, given current US trade policy and a domestic focus on onshoring and US-based manufacturing. The two panels will mean customers qualify for the domestic content bonus in investment tax credit claims, the company says.
New limits on polysilicon imports to the US, part of the Section 232 tariffs to come into force on 4 December, were detailed last month by the US Department of Commerce (DoC). Established importers of record will be prohibited from importing a volume of polysilicon “substantially greater than their historic averages”, with calculations made using various previous import metrics.
The US secretary of commerce will be able to take action against companies stockpiling polysilicon ahead of the tariffs.
“Qcells is committed to investing in American-made clean energy products and in the domestic supply chain behind them,” said Il Hyeong No, head of Qcells North America’s residential business.
“By carrying out extrusion, anodising and fabrication here in the United States, we are delivering a product that offers transparency and confidence at every step of the process,” said Jinwoo Park, president of ALUKO Group.
In 2025, solar cells manufactured by Qcells in Korea were held by US Customs and Border Protection under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), with the ensuing disruption to production causing the company to furlough 1,000 employees at its 5.1GW facility in Dalton, Georgia. A return to production was announced at the plant in March 2026.
Qcells’ investment in US-based manufacturing has helped it build a vertically-integrated domestic PV supply chain, with the two new solar panels extending that philosophy downstream to include aluminium module frames made in the US.
