Think about the start of 2025. The solarcoaster was going at full speed. The new presidential administration was creating tariffs every week, legislative budget reconciliation was holding solar tax incentives hostage, and an AD/CVD inquiry into Southeast Asian shipments was disrupting panel supply. Every installation business seems to have a hard time getting tasks done on schedule.
April 28 came and went, a day that will go down in home solar infamy as renowned module and battery provider Panasonic suddenly pulled out of the market. The statement stunned New Jersey-based Public Service Solar, which received Panasonic’s Northeast Installer of the Year last year.
“I was at a Panasonic EverVolt install on April 28, filming myself talking about how great the battery was when I got the call from Tony that said, ‘Stop marketing that product,'”
said Andrew Contrino, chief marketing officer at Public Service Solar (No. 210 on the 2026 Top Solar Contractors List).
Tony Lostracco, CEO of Public Service Solar, was about to place his next purchase of panels and batteries when he received the news.
Scrambling for Panel Supply
“When you sell these things, you can’t just call up the supply house and say, I want 10 today, I want 50. You predict with Panasonic,”
he remarked.
“I’m forecasting for January in April I say I need 5 MW. Panasonic asked for our prediction on April 1st. And then on April 28, they released to everybody, like, ‘Hey, we’re out!'”
“We’ve always been proud to offer premium products and still have wonderful things to say about Panasonic’s warranties and product support.”
The announcement made, the first order of business was to secure appropriate panel and battery supplies in an already tight market. Lostracco got on the phone with REC and Maxeon that same day for the panels.
“We had been making the panels for Panasonic, and we had a very good standing with them,”
he added.
“The problem was that REC was in this new world of supply constraint. They suffered a fire at their Singapore manufacturing factory in June, and they were out of supplies by September. So, we switched to Maxeon.”
Maxeon was big at the end of the year; their panels are excellent and wonderful with warranties. But then Maxeon has trouble getting through Customs.
A Smoother Transition for Battery Supply
Public Service Solar had a smoother ride with battery supplies.
“EverVolt was coming out with the storage product around the same time we already had experience selling FranklinWH and our electricians felt really good about it,”
Contrino added.
“That’s a good battery, so that was an easier transition.”
Lingering Effects in 2026
In 2026, the aftereffects of Panasonic’s leaving are still felt, said Lostracco. Panasonic’s decision to remove its battery monitoring site in January has made support calls more complex. Chinese solar startup SolaX just bought Panasonic’s monitoring applications, and Public Service Solar is optimistic things will turn around shortly.
“I have no regrets. It was a great advantage to sell the Panasonic product, and it’s a shame it ended this way,”
added Lostracco.
“I love these premium products, but you have to play the market. We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket,”
he said.
Public Service Solar will remain a premium service, but it’s more lifestyle than product choice anymore.
Building Trust Beyond Product Choice
“You can separate yourself and determine the quality of how you form that relationship from the very beginning,”
Contrino added.
“We allow people to have final measurements and final production estimates before we’re asking for a sale. Hopefully our evaluations show that there’s a lot of openness and honesty and comfort in knowing what their method is going to deliver. We genuinely make sure that customer experience is a nice one.”
“We’re still doing what we’ve always done, which is doing the right thing for the customer,”
he said.
“Looks like we didn’t need Panasonic to tear us apart after all.”
