Steel solar panel frame producer Origami Solar has secured a fully American supply chain, including working with three U.S. steel fabricators.<\/p>\n
The three partnerships \u2013 with Welser Profile<\/a>\u00a0of Valley City, Ohio;\u00a0Priefert<\/a>, of Mt. Pleasant, Texas; and\u00a0Unimacts<\/a>\u00a0of Houston, Texas \u2013 will enable Origami to ship steel solar frames to customers in the first quarter of 2025. This domestic supply chain also means that frames can get from the fabricator to the module manufacturer in one to two days. As steel solar frames\u00a0withstand greater\u00a0<\/a>module load levels and have\u00a090% less embodied carbon<\/a>\u00a0than comparable aluminum frames, solar industry professionals and environmentalists alike have reason for excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica has one of the world\u2019s strongest steel industries,\u201d said Origami Solar CEO Gregg Patterson. \u201cWe have the energy efficient steel mills and the world-class fabricators that can produce every solar frame America will ever need. Thanks to our newly-announced partnerships and all-domestic supply chain, there is simply no reason for the solar industry to accept the enormous risk that comes with imported aluminum frames. They should not have to accept shipping issues, labor strife, or impoundments delaying the arrival of the frames they need. They should not have to accept the possibility that geopolitical tensions could shut off the frame supply entirely. They should not have to accept the risk of ever-increasing tariffs or that weaker aluminum frames would fail to support ever-larger solar panels. Now, the solar industry can avoid that risk entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. aluminum industry is vital, but it would be difficult to use it to reduce risk in the solar supply chain, Origami says. Given the intense demand for lightweight metals like aluminum for equipment central to U.S. national security, using valuable yet limited aluminum resources for products like solar module frames that can be made from alternatives \u2013 particularly when those alternatives are better suited to supporting and protecting solar panels \u2013 is not a sound strategy.<\/p>\n