Enphase: Latest Example of Inflation Reduction Act Leading to US Manufacturing

Enphase Energy, the world’s #1 microinverter-based solar and battery system supplier, like many others, have responded to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) by bringing more manufacturing to the US. While the legislation’s name is focused on inflation, and it is packed full of support for climate solutions, the thing about the Inflation Reduction Act that stands out most to me is that it’s the biggest policy in history focused on reshoring manufacturing capacity in the United States. It has led to numerous new factories in the solar, battery, and EV industries.

The latest example of that is from Enphase, which just started shipping IQ8HC Microinverters manufactured in the United States and using more domestically produced content than previously. Combined with other US-made solar equipment, they now qualify the buyer for the IRA’s domestic content bonus tax credit.

“The IQ8 Microinverters supplied from U.S. manufacturing facilities represent a significant milestone for Enphase and our business,” said Arthur Souritzidis, CEO at Momentum Solar. “This transition aligns with our values and ensures that these state-of-the-art microinverters meet the highest standards while contributing to the growth of renewable energy in our communities.”

That sounds nice. But, let’s be honest, it’s all about the IRA. This legislation finally pushed companies across the industry to manufacture in the United States rather than in cheap-labor countries elsewhere in the world.

“The domestic content bonus tax credit is only available to commercial asset owners, which includes commercial businesses adding solar and PPA/lease providers who own residential solar projects,” Enphase notes. “Enphase encourages those interested in the domestic content bonus tax credit to consult their own legal and tax professionals to confirm whether qualification for the credit is applicable.”

You can learn more about the new IQ8HC Microinverters via the company’s data sheet on them. Enphase notes that the “DOM” suffix is used in the SKU to easily identify them. You can also learn more about Enphase manufacturing in the US here.

“This is an exciting time for Enphase and the solar industry as a whole,” said Ken Fong, vice president and general manager of the Americas at Enphase Energy. “Our customers can now more easily qualify for the domestic content bonus tax credit, which can help them scale their businesses and ultimately reach more customers. By investing in American manufacturing, we’re not just creating jobs and growing the economy—we’re also ensuring that our products continue to lead the industry in reliability and performance.” Indeed, that’s what the IRA is all about.

As someone who follows both politics and policy quite closely, it’s very frustrating to see how much of the country ignores or is not even aware of the massive manufacturing boost the IRA is providing the country. After decades of lamenting the loss of manufacturing jobs, someone did something about it and started really bringing them back. This is providing a great economic boost to the country. However, it’s apparently more interesting to talk about false but titillating conspiracy theories like the one that people in Springfield, Ohio, are eating cats and dogs. Spoiler alert: they’re not, and this is all one giant distraction to make you miss the fact that the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are building things for Americans, actually creating new jobs, and didn’t fall out of the sky.

Oh yeah, Enphase also recently announced pre-orders for IQ Battery 5Ps produced in the USA that qualify for domestic content bonus tax credits. Same story.

Photo credit: Enphase Energy