US Department of Treasury includes solar ingots and wafers in 25% tax credit

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Wafer manufacturer NexWafe and trade body SEMA Coalition were among the industry voices calling for the inclusion of domestic incentives for manufacturing solar wafers. Image: NexWafe.

The US Department of Treasury (DOT) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released the final rules for the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (CHIPS ITC).

In its final ruling, the domestic manufacturing of solar ingots and wafers has been included with a 25% investment tax credit under Section 48D of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit rules.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Furthermore, the US Treasury and IRS, with the Department of Energy and other agencies, said it will continue to evaluate additional options to incentivise further domestic production of components in the full solar supply chain, including wafers.

The new regulations are effective starting from 23 December 2024, and will include manufacturing facilities, which began production after the end of 2022, or are scheduled to start operations before the end of 2026.

“Today’s final guidance provides critical certainty for semiconductor and solar manufacturers to make generational investments in communities across the country,” said national economic advisor Lael Brainard.

The inclusion of tax credits for the domestic manufacturing of solar ingots and wafers comes over a month after proposed tariff increases for wafers and polysilicon under Section 301. The tariff for both wafers and polysilicon could be increased to 50%, however these tariffs alone would not have been enough to help boost domestic manufacturing of wafers in the US (Premium access), which is facing an imbalance in its upstream manufacturing capacity, as explained by advisory body Clean Energy Associates (CEA) last year in a guest article on PV Tech.

Industry welcomes tax credits

The US solar industry has long demanded the inclusion of domestic manufacturing tax credits for solar ingot and wafer production. Earlier this year, Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe, a manufacturer of solar wafers, wrote a guest blog on PV Tech regarding the inclusion of domestically produced wafers in domestic content incentives.

Meanwhile, the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition, a trade association, applauded the decision from the DOT and the IRS. The SEMA Coalition was among the industry voices calling for the US to include incentives for domestic manufacturing of wafers.

“The final 48D rules will help solar manufacturers unlock the full potential of the CHIPS and Science Act by providing critical support for efforts to reshore the entire solar supply chain. We applaud Treasury’s final CHIPS ITC rules, which clarify that domestic solar ingot and wafer manufacturers can access this landmark incentive,” said Mike Carr, executive director at the SEMA Coalition.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), another trade association, also welcomed the final ruling, which president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said “will create new opportunities for solar manufacturers”.

“Treasury’s final rules will create new opportunities for solar manufacturers and encourage the upstream development of the solar supply chain,” added Hopper.

“Supply chain accessibility and security remains one of our biggest challenges in the US solar and storage industry. While the United States is a global leader in module manufacturing, we don’t have any ingot and wafer facilities in operation yet, representing a critical gap in the solar supply chain.”

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

July 4, 2025
The US House of Representatives has passed the final version of the reconciliation bill that is now going to US President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature before its passing.
July 3, 2025
US tracker manufacturer GameChange Solar has introduced the Genius Tracker TF, a new terrain-following solar tracker system designed to deliver “the industry’s lowest grading requirement on challenging terrain.” 
July 2, 2025
The US Senate has narrowly passed – with a 51-50 vote and with vice-president JD Vance breaking the tie – the reconciliation bill yesterday (1 July) without the solar and wind excise tax.
July 1, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Arevon Energy has closed a US$600 million credit facility to support its solar PV and energy storage portfolio in the US.
June 30, 2025
Heliene has completed the sale of Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits in association with Minnesota-based U.S. Bank.
June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK