U.S. solar company T1 Energy and specialty glass maker Corning have signed a landmark agreement to create a fully domestic solar supply chain, covering everything from polysilicon and wafers to cells and panels—manufactured entirely in the United States.
The deal comes as the U.S. moves to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly China, which dominates the global solar wafer market. Under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, solar projects using significant equipment from “foreign entities of concern” will not qualify for federal clean energy tax credits, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
"This landmark supply chain agreement with Corning will help invigorate America with scalable, reliable, low-cost energy," T1 CEO Daniel Barcelo said. "This is American companies building in America and protecting American energy security."
Corning will begin supplying solar wafers from its Michigan factory in the second half of 2026. The wafers will be used at T1’s upcoming cell facility in Austin, Texas, before final assembly into panels at the company’s factory near Dallas.
The partnership expands an existing supply contract for solar-grade polysilicon and is expected to employ about 6,000 workers across Michigan and Texas. Corning has made similar agreements this year with solar manufacturers Suniva and Heliene.
