The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in the US has secured a green signal from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for its newly developed standard, which it believes will improve the solar and storage supply chain transparency.
The ANSI/SEIA 101 Solar and Energy Storage Supply Chain Traceability Standard will help companies comply with the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) traceability requirements, it explains. It provides a rubric that manufacturers and importers can follow to trace product origins from raw materials to finished goods.
It applies to both companies and products and is aimed at supporting solar developers and manufacturers in every facet of supply chain mapping and tracking.
The traceability standard lists the documents required to trace a product back to raw material, transactions between component manufacturers and final product manufacturers, transactions between raw material miners and manufacturers, and more. It also covers best practices and lessons learnt about product detentions associated with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) (see UFLPA Comes Into Force In The US).
It is designed to work at all levels, for multiple stakeholders. Solar and storage developers can use the standard to trace where project components come from. Installers, insurers, and others who rely on solar product info can ask vendors to follow it. Manufacturers can use it to certify both their products and their business.
The SEIA standard comes into the picture at a time when the US solar market is becoming harder to navigate as federal rules shift. The industry is moving from a supportive framework under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to stricter regulations under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which makes clean energy approvals tougher. The USCIT decision overturning the Biden-era’s 2-year moratorium on solar tariffs from Southeast Asian nations is another upcoming challenge for the industry (see ‘Billions’ In Retroactive Solar Tariffs Possible After US Court Decision).
Laws like the UFLPA, import tariffs, antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD), and the ongoing Section 232 polysilicon investigation are already making it difficult to bring solar products into the US (see Wood Mackenzie Calls Section 232 US Solar’s Biggest Challenge).
“The U.S. solar and storage industry is deeply committed to operating with the highest ethical standards. As we expand domestic manufacturing across the solar and storage supply chain, this standard will help ensure that every solar and storage product installed in America reflects that commitment,” explained SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper.
Earlier this year, ANSI approved 2 SEIA-developed national standards for solar and storage projects, involving consumer protection (401) and operation and maintenance (301). The list of approved standards is available on SEIA’s website.
SEIA is now also developing a new installation requirement standard – 251 – for large commercial and industrial systems. It will cover 5 sets of requirements and guidelines related to contractor qualifications, design and equipment, installation, quality management and operations and maintenance (O&M), and inspection and verification.
