ARRA Compliant Solar Panels - Buy American

Under the "Buy American" provision of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), public projects backed by ARRA funds must use ARRA-compliant products. This article explains exactly what "ARRA" means, and provides a regularly updated list of the ARRA-compliant products offered by EcoDirect.com.

What does it mean to be ARRA Compliant?

An ARRA-Compliant product wasn't necessarily made in the United States of America. ARRA Compliant only means that the product meets one of the two following guidelines:

1. Was the product substantially made in the USA?

   This refers to the "cost of domestic components" test from the ARRA of 1933. If the domestic content of a product is over 50% with manufacturing within the US, it can be considered ARRA Compliant.

2. Did a substantial transformation occur in the USA?

   This guideline is a little less straightforward than the previous one. To determine whether "substantial transformation" has taken place, the following list of questions is provided. A "yes" to any of these means that the product is ARRA Compliant:

   

   • Were all components sourced and assembled in the USA?

   • Was there a change in character or use of the good or the components in America? (ie. change in functionality, more specialized uses, etc.)

   • Were the processes performed in the US complex and meaningful? (ie. high cost, skill, time, etc.)

3. Certain products, such as Enphase, are also qualified for the ARRA via exception.

For more information, here is an extensive Buy American FAQ from the US Government. Further details on determining whether or not a product is ARRA compliant can be found in this 2009 document .

ARRA Compliant Products

Below is comprehensive list of EcoDirect products that are "ARRA Compliant."