The Policy2050 Newsletter: Where innovation, investment, and impact meet.
By David Pring-Mill
Steel frames are emerging as alternatives to aluminum in solar mounting systems. Carbon footprints are dropping below 300 kg CO₂eq/kW. U.S. manufacturing capacity alone jumped by 13 GW in six months. Meanwhile, community solar developers are buying up projects in Illinois, where state policy explicitly supports low-income access.
These specific developments from late summer 2025 show solar companies making distinct bets about what matters next. While installations keep climbing (82% of new grid capacity is solar and storage), the interesting action has moved to the details: the materials, the manufacturing processes, the carbon accounting that most customers will never see.
Maxeon Solar Technologies Reports Financial Challenges
Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ: MAXN) reported financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2025. The company continues to face challenges from U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s exclusion of its solar panels from U.S. import since July 2024. On July 15, 2025, Maxeon filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging CBP’s action.
Aspen Power Acquires Illinois Community Solar Projects
Aspen Power acquired two community solar projects in Illinois totaling 13.9 megawatts direct current (MWdc). The projects are expected to generate over 19 million kilowatt-hours annually. The projects were acquired from Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure and will operate under Illinois’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which expands renewable energy access for low- and moderate-income households.
Nextracker Acquires Origami Solar
Nextracker (Nasdaq: NXT) acquired Origami Solar, Inc. for approximately $53 million in an all-cash transaction including future contingent earnout consideration. Origami Solar develops roll-formed steel frame technology for solar panels. According to the company, steel frames offer greater strength at competitive cost and reduced carbon intensity compared to aluminum frames, with opportunities for localized manufacturing.
Canadian Solar Launches Low Carbon Modules
Canadian Solar introduced Low Carbon (LC) modules with a carbon footprint of 285 kg CO₂eq/kW. The modules use heterojunction (HJT) cell technology and deliver up to 660 Wp output with module efficiency up to 24.4%. Total energy consumption during production is 105.62 MWh/MW, representing an 8.8%-10.7% energy saving compared to TOPCon and BC solar module production, according to the company. Deliveries began in August 2025.
DAS Solar Achieves Record DBC Cell Efficiency
DAS Solar announced a certified 27.77% conversion efficiency for its next-generation DBC (back-contact) solar cell at the 21st Conference on Photovoltaic Science and Technology (CPVC-21). The achievement, verified by the China Photovoltaic Testing Center (CPVT), combines the company’s TOPCon technology with back-contact architecture. The DBC 3.0 Plus platform incorporates high-precision laser patterning, embedded diode design, and 0BB interconnection technology to reduce silver paste usage while boosting performance.
SEIA Reports Solar Industry Growth
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reported that U.S. solar installations reached nearly 18 GW in the first half of 2025. Solar and storage accounted for 82% of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid during this period. The U.S. added 13 GW of new solar module manufacturing capacity, with new or expanded facilities in Texas, Indiana, and Minnesota.
What makes this moment interesting isn’t convergence but divergence. Some companies are doubling down on U.S. manufacturing (those new facilities in Texas, Indiana, Minnesota). Others are fighting customs battles to maintain global supply chains. The technical targets themselves tell the story: one company chases 27.77% efficiency in DBC cells, another combines 105.62 MWh/MW production energy with 660 Wp heterojunction modules, while others focus on entirely different metrics.
The lesson for investors and innovators isn’t that there’s one right path forward, but that the solar industry has matured enough to support multiple strategies. The winners won’t necessarily be those who bet on the right trend, but those who execute their particular strategy better than anyone else—whether that’s making stronger frames, the cleanest modules, or capturing underserved community solar markets.
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