By Kit Norton
China is reportedly considering limiting solar energy equipment exports to the U.S., according to a report. Such a move could squeeze U.S. solar companies, which rely heavily on Chinese manufacturers for certain equipment components and equipment.
China is weighing options on whether to restrict exports of its advanced solar panel manufacturing equipment to the U.S., Reuters reported Wednesday. The International Energy Agency estimates that China's global share in all the manufacturing stages of solar panels -- including polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells, and modules -- exceeds 80%.
Such restrictions could hit the U.S. supply chain. Tesla, Alphabet-owned Google, and Amazon.com are all investing in solar and energy storage to help power AI data centers.
In response to the report, solar stocks generally declined on Wednesday. Nextpower traded 2.7% lower to $111.60. Enphase Energy advanced 2.9% to $32.90, and Sunrun fell 2.9% to $12.10.
First Solar advanced prior to the opening bell before declining 2.3% to $195.91. In recent years, the Arizona-based company has built up its supply chain so that it is mostly immune to China's stranglehold on solar panel components.
First Solar's technology doesn't use crystalline silicon, commonly used in solar cells, and the company has said it isn't dependen China's solar supply chains. The solar panel manufacturer also has major manufacturing hubs in India as well as in the U.S.
Separately, Israel-based SolarEdge sank 5.5% to $40.61 on Wednesday. A day earlier , Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral , citing elevated expectations and challenging valuation. Goldman also lowered its target price for SolarEdge to $31, compared to its previous $36.
Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com
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April 15, 2026 12:41 ET (16:41 GMT)
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