Qcells to offer U.S.-made aluminum frames on Q.TRON AC and Q.PEAK DUO AC residential panels

Qcells announced it will offer domestic-frame options for its Q.TRON AC and Q.PEAK DUO AC residential solar panels in the United States, with aluminum frames extruded, anodized and fabricated in Tennessee by ALUKO Group at its Halls, Tennessee facility. Qcells says the frames will help meet minimum domestic content requirements for certain third-party owned solar projects. The facility is expected to begin full production by the end of 2026, with planned annual capacity to support 4 GW of solar panels; ALUKO plans 285 new full-time jobs and more than $107 million invested in Tennessee within five years.

Supply Chain Dive analysis identifies five trends reshaping consumer electronics supply chains

McKinsey report finds fragmented trade raises U.S. solar and storage costs

McKinsey & Company's Global Energy Perspective 2026 finds that under its "Fragmented Energy Order" scenario, tariffs and trade restrictions raise U.S. clean-technology costs, with battery energy storage facing the largest premium among low-carbon assets at a 40% to 50% increase in capital expenditure, driven by cathode material tariffs, critical mineral bottlenecks and supply chain localization barriers. The report says broad duties on steel and aluminum add indirect capital costs to balance-of-system components, including aluminum frames, which it puts at roughly 14% of total solar panel production costs, and steel used in ground-mounted tracking and racking.