Global electronics company Panasonic announced on Monday plans to close its solar and energy storage branch. The company produced solar panels, inverters and batteries for the residential market for over 25 years and was once a major solar supplier to SolarCity/Tesla dealers. Panasonic said it would honor all warranties, and customers can email the company for support.
“We have made the decision to discontinue our solar and battery storage business line. This change allows us to focus on areas where we can have the greatest strategic impact. We remain confident in the technology and grateful to our partners and customers who have supported this journey,” stated Panasonic on its website.
“We are committed to a smooth transition and will continue to provide customer support to existing customers, as well as future customers who are undergoing installations and commissioning. Please rest assured that all warranties will be honored for both installed products and those not yet installed. Where third-party warranties apply, we will continue to support our customers by providing clear direction and points of contact. Support remains available via our website and our dedicated solar and battery storage email at panasonicsolar@us.panasonic.com.”
Panasonic can trace its experience in solar panel manufacturing back 40 years. SANYO Electric first developed heterojunction technology (HJT) in the 1980s, marketing the advanced solar panels as “HIT” for “Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer technology.” Panasonic acquired SANYO in 2009, and its HIT panels dominated the U.S. solar market in the early 2010s.
Panasonic once produced solar cells in the United States and operated solar panel factories in Malaysia and Japan until 2022, until it outsourced panel production to an OEM. Panasonic also transitioned to panels with larger wafers to follow industry trends.
At the time, Panasonic director of solar Mukesh Sethi exclusively told Solar Power World that the decision to end in-house manufacturing was financial.
“We have been the pioneer in heterojunction technology, making panels for the past 25 years. We have made considerable progress in efficiency and output over time. We have increased our manufacturing capacity so many times by opening new production lines and facilities, but over the past two to three years, the solar industry has changed considerably. The cost of solar panels and cells have dropped, and new technologies have emerged, requiring big upfront investments in bigger cells,” he said. “So instead of focusing on manufacturing the solar panels, which has become a low-margin business category now with the ever-falling prices and changing technologies, making it difficult for manufacturers to keep up with the continuous investment in new machinery, we have decided to outsource the manufacturing so we can just focus on designing and selling the product.”
After going through multiple transitions, Panasonic most recently landed on its EverVolt line of solar panels and batteries. Brand ambassador Michael Phelps installed Panasonic panels, batteries and associated components at his Arizona home last summer and appeared at RE+ to promote the company.
Panasonic also supported a robust installer program, providing benefits and business opportunities to authorized, premium and elite tiers of installers across the country. Certified Panasonic installers had exclusive access to the company’s solar and storage products.
The three main players in residential solar in the 2010s — Panasonic, LG and SunPower — have now all exited the market. LG closed its solar division in 2022, and SunPower sold its panel tech to Maxeon in 2020 before eventually going bankrupt as an installer last year.
“Global electronics company Panasonic announced on Monday plans to close its solar and energy storage branch. The company produced solar panels, inverters and batteries for the residential market for over 25 years and was once a major solar supplier to SolarCity/Tesla dealers. Panasonic said it would honor all warranties, and customers can email the company for support.”
So sorry to hear this on so many levels. My first solar PV installation on a home was using Sanyo 195 watt panels. This system is still online and being used to offset energy demands on the property 20 years later, proof that this is a marathon, not a sprint.
“…ever-falling prices and changing technologies, making it difficult for manufacturers to keep up with the continuous investment in new machinery, we have decided to outsource the manufacturing so we can just focus on designing and selling the product.” Out sourcing as to leaning heavily on Malaysia that uses substantial amounts of Chinese Solar PV cells along their manufacturing lines? Still some substantial 201, 301 tariff list components and materials that will be hit with higher tariff rates.
“The three main players in residential solar in the 2010s — Panasonic, LG and SunPower — have now all exited the market. LG closed its solar division in 2022, and SunPower sold its panel tech to Maxeon in 2020 before eventually going bankrupt as an installer last year.”
Therein lies the conundrum, China is either contracted for or owning about 60% of the known lithium supplies in the World and having something like 80%-90% of the Worlds supply chain of silicon foundries ingots, wafer fabs and has China controlling the supply chain of solar PV cells and BESS units as the “low cost” solution. As for Maxeon, I have been looking for Maxeon Series 7 panels for my solar PV system and it seems one can’t get Maxeon panels because of a slow walking CBP “detension” keeping the panels in Mexico “waiting for review” of UYGHUR compliance. TESLA was once Panasonic oriented, then dropped Panasonic and is now Korean Hanwha oriented, but it is uncertain just how much assembled panel content is made up of Chinese solar PV cells, framework, glass and back covering.