LG has been a leading brand of solar modules in the US, and less so, world-wide for over a decade now. I noticed them enter the market in 2010, along with so many new entrants that year at the Solar Power International in Los Angeles. When I saw that LG, Samsung, and Hyundai among others were making a big splash at that trade show, it was a clue that the market would be dramatically changing and growing. Through the first half of that decade we not only saw continued geometric growth of the industry, but jaw-dropping price decreases. Those price decreases helped fuel industry growth, but also herlded the failure of many good American companies that could not cut costs and survive (RIP Evergreen, UniSolar, Stirling Energy, NanoSolar, Solyndra, Day4, SpectraWatt, etc.) At that time, we had just begun our relationship with Sunpower, based in San Jose, CA, which had been in the solar industry since 1985, and has been consistently recognized as the highest efficiancy and quality.
I was surprised to see LG walk away from the solar sector since they have such a good reputation, a good product, significant market share, and some of the greatest electronics manufacturing expertise on the planet. If they can’t make good profit with all those advantages going for them, what does that say about the industry as a whole? The low cost of multiple giant Asian solar manufacturers, the difficulties produced by Chinese dumping (substantiated by the FTC, and a basis for tariffs), and the consumer expectation that solar will continue to decrease in price, have combined to create difficult market conditions for manufacturers.
The official announcement from LG cites supply chain issues, and increasing materials and logistics costs. https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2022/03/lgs-advice-to-u-s-installers-as-it-exits-solar-panel-manufacturing/
As recently as last year, LG was forecasting growth and continuing to commit to the sector. https://www.lg.com/global/business/solar-blog/solar-market-trend
Sunpower has been able to weather the difficulties present in this market through growth, cost-cutting, price decreases, outside investment, and various restructuring over the years. Sunpower is not the least expensive product on the market, far from it. We feel that going with the highest quality company, with a track record of reliability and consistency, is the best way to make this solar investment for your home.
10 KW Sunpower Array, Sequim, WA, October 2021