Think back to early 2025. The solarcoaster was traveling at full speed. The new presidential administration was inventing tariffs every week, congressional budget reconciliation was holding solar tax incentives hostage and an AD/CVD investigation into Southeast Asian exports was rocking panel supply. Each installation company seemed to be fighting just to get projects completed on time.
Credit: Public Service Solar
Then came April 28, a day to live in residential solar infamy — popular module and battery supplier Panasonic abruptly exited the market. New Jersey-based Public Service Solar — recognized as Panasonic’s Northeast Installer of the Year — was blindsided by the announcement.
“[On April 28] I was at a Panasonic EverVolt install, 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).
Public Service Solar CEO Tony Lostracco was preparing his next order of panels and batteries when he heard the news.
“When you sell these things, it’s not like you just call up the supply house and say, ‘I want 10 today. I want 50.’ You forecast with Panasonic,” he said. “In April, I’m forecasting for January, saying I need 5 MW. On April 1st, Panasonic asked for our forecast. On April 28, they sent a release to everybody like, ‘Hey, we’re out!’”
Public Service Solar has long prided itself on offering premium products and still only has exceptional things to say about Panasonic’s warranties and product support. After the announcement, the first order of business was finding adequate panel and battery supply in an already constrained market. For the panels, Lostracco got on the phone that same day with REC and Maxeon.
“REC had been making the panels for Panasonic [for a while], and we were in very good standing with them,” he said. “The problem was REC was living in this new world of supply constraint. They had a fire [at their Singapore manufacturing plant] in June, and they ran out of supply by September. So, we pivoted to Maxeon. Maxeon came in huge at the end of the year, and their panels are awesome and great with warranties. But then [Maxeon has issues getting through Customs].”
When it came to battery supply, Public Service Solar had an easier path.
“Around the same time EverVolt was coming out with the storage product, we had already had experience selling FranklinWH, and our electricians felt really good about it,” Contrino said. “That’s an incredible battery, so that was an easier transition.”
Lostracco said the after-effects of Panasonic’s exit are still being felt in 2026. Panasonic shut down its battery monitoring portal in January, which has complicated service calls. Just recently, Chinese solar brand SolaX took control of Panasonic’s monitoring apps, and Public Service Solar is hopeful things will turn around soon.
“I have no regrets. Selling Panasonic’s product was an exceptional advantage, and it’s a shame that it’s gone this way,” Lostracco said. “I love these premium products, but we’re not putting all our eggs in one basket because you have to play the market.”
The premium offering will continue for Public Service Solar, but now it’s more of a lifestyle than a product choice.
“You can differentiate yourself and control the quality by how you form that relationship in the very beginning,” Contrino said. “We give people the opportunity to have final measurements and final production estimates before we’re asking for a sale. Hopefully our reviews reflect that, that there’s a lot of transparency and honesty and comfort with knowing what their system’s going to produce. We really mold that customer experience to be a good one.
“We’re continuing to maintain that difference of doing the right thing for the customer that we’ve always done,” he continued. “It turns out we didn’t need Panasonic to separate us.”
This story was featured exclusively in our 2026 Top Solar Contractors issue. See the issue and full list of top U.S. solar installers here.
