- Soft
- Balanced
- Firm
There's nowhere cheap left to buy from.
India, Indonesia, and Laos — the last low-cost options — just got hit with tariffs up to 143%.
A1 Solar Index:
Pricing & Supply Chain Outlook
A composite index of price stability, inventory levels and demand change, built exclusively on observed transaction activity across A1 SolarStore.
Get the full Q2 2026 reportHow Q2 played out
Overall direction, buyer pricing behavior and regional supply alignment
A1 Solar Index dynamics
The index rose 1 point from Q1 to 84, still shy of Q4's tariff-driven peak of 88.
Median vs. actual price
The gap widened for a third straight quarter — though this time, falling list prices did more work than rising demand.
Inventory: supply vs. demand
West South Central has the sharpest supply gap, while Pacific is the most balanced large market.
Key Insights Q2 2026
-8.87% US-Made panel prices
U.S.-made panels fell to $0.510/W as new Treasury rules narrowed domestic-content eligibility.
+122% Inventory level QoQ
Inventory nearly doubled to 932K panels and 491MW — within 10% of the Q1 2025 peak.
$0.323/W Median listing price
Average transaction price settled at $0.355/W — a Premium Skew of +9.91%
10/10 Demand for 400–449W
400–449W remained the top-demand segment, while 500–549W posted the quarter's steepest drop.
Three signals. One market reading
91 Price stability
Tracks listing and transaction prices, including the direction and intensity of Premium Skew.
60 Inventory level
Measures active listed inventory and the pace at which available supply is rebuilding.
100 Demand change
Captures quarter-over-quarter changes in observed purchasing activity.
0.4 × Price Stability +
0.3 × Inventory Level +
0.3 × Demand Change = 84
Know where the solar market is headed
- Price dynamics and Premium Skew
- Inventory levels and delivery lead times
- Wattage, brand and specification demand
- Regional benchmarks and policy outlook
A market index grounded in transactions
- Real data Pricing, inventory, lead times, purchase formats, specifications and regional demand.
- External context Industry benchmarks for raw materials, tariffs, policy and incentive programs.
- Quarterly consistency A stable formula makes directional changes comparable from one edition to the next.
Built on 100% observed A1 SolarStore activity
Not survey responses. Not modeled purchase intent. Not a consensus forecast.
Follow the market quarter by quarter
The full picture, in one 42-page report
- Price dynamics and Premium Skew
- Inventory levels and delivery lead times
- Wattage, brand and specification demand
- Regional benchmarks and policy outlook
About the index and report
For anything not covered here, contact [email protected].
A composite quarterly indicator built exclusively on observed transaction data from A1 SolarStore — not surveys, not forecasts. It scores price stability, inventory level, and demand change from 0 to 100 and combines them into a single reading.
A1 Solar Index = 0.4 × Price Stability + 0.3 × Inventory Level + 0.3 × Demand Change. Each component is scored 0–100 based on real activity that quarter.
Pricing, inventory, lead time, and demand figures come exclusively from aggregated, anonymized A1 SolarStore transaction data. Raw material prices (polysilicon, silver, aluminum) and tariff rates are sourced from public benchmarks — Bloomberg, LME, COMEX, PV Insights, and Commerce Department filings.
Quarterly, a few weeks after each quarter closes.
No. The report is for informational and educational purposes only. It's not a substitute for professional investment advice, and A1 SolarStore makes no warranties as to completeness or accuracy of third-party data included.