Off-Grid Solar Predictions for 2025: Two Reasons to Act Now

We’ll see a lot of changes in 2025. Two shifts, in particular, may impact the costs and importance of off-grid solar. (1) The proposed tariffs will likely drive up equipment costs, and (2) Policies that favor fewer regulations and corporate interests may encourage utility companies to put profits ahead of services, increasing the frequency and duration of outages.

Let’s look closer into these two factors.

1. Tariffs may drive up off-grid solar equipment costs

The new administration will likely impose tariffs on all imported items and even steeper duties against goods from China.

Most solar equipment components come from China, even if the manufacturer is a U.S. company. For example, one of our preferred inverter brands is headquartered in Texas. However, the equipment is manufactured in China (like most smartphones and consumer electronics). 

Often, it’s not a matter of choice. Most electronic components are only available from foreign manufacturers. Even if the tariffs encourage local manufacturing, the higher labor cost in the U.S. will lead to higher prices. Plus, building plants to handle complex manufacturing processes will take time and investment.

We monitor the supply chain and order components that deliver the best value for our clients. However, if the administration implements its tariff plan, we expect a price increase across the board. Taking action in the next month or two may save you a pretty penny.

2. Support for corporate interests may increase outages

The new administration will likely favor fewer regulations to promote corporate interests. This approach may make it easier for utility companies like SoCal Edison (SCE) to put profits ahead of services, worsening outages for rural areas like Caliente.

It’s all about profitability. For example, SCE has massive solar and wind fields in the Mojave Desert. It pulls a lot of cables to distribute the electricity to customers — and cables are extremely costly.

Buying cables and maintaining the infrastructure to sell power to population centers like the greater LA area or Bakersfield yield much higher revenue and profits than serving the <1,000 households in Caliente.

The regulatory pressure on utilities will decrease, incentivizing them to prioritize profits over uptime. We may see SCE further slipping on its commitment and accountability to rural customers, leading to lengthier and more frequent outages.

Energy independence is more critical than ever. If you’re an SCE customer, consider a “grid-as-backup” approach to increase resiliency with off-grid solar. If you have grid-tied solar, your system will shut down when SCE turns off the power — you’d end up staring at a PV array (that cost you an arm and a leg) but still have no electricity. We have a solution for that — hit us up.

Act now to lock in the current equipment costs

If you’re ready to take action and set up your off-grid or grid-as-backup system, we can scope your project and help you lock in the equipment cost. We can also create a payment and implementation schedule, such as purchasing the components by the end of the year and proceeding with the build and implementation phase next year to meet your budgeting needs.

Contact us to schedule an onsite consultation.

p.s. We do hope that we’re more wrong than right with these predictions. We’d rather pay less for everything than being right.