Fall 2026 Update: Panel Stock, Fire Season Lessons, and What's Coming Next

Summer's over, the smoke has mostly cleared, and it's been a season none of us up here will forget. Here's a straight update on where our panel stock stands going into fall, what this fire season taught a lot of folks about their power, and what we've got coming next.

Panel stock: two sold out, two going strong

Thanks to everyone who came through the yard this summer. You cleaned us out of two models:

• JA Solar 305W — sold out for now
• ReneSola 300W — sold out for now

The good news: we've still got solid stock of the two higher-output JA Solar panels heading into fall, and we've dropped the price on both:

• JA Solar 310W — $65 per panel (about 21¢ a watt)
• JA Solar 315W — $70 per panel (about 22¢ a watt)

Same deal as always: used commercial panels from utility-scale arrays, 72-cell, MC4 connectors, tested before they leave our yard, local pickup in Oroville. The 310s and 315s come from the same JA Solar series and are electrically close enough to mix in the same array without any real loss. See what's in stock, or call or text us at (509) 341-0559.

This fire season was a wake-up call on power

If you live in the Okanogan, you lived this one. The lightning-caused Sinlahekin Fire started west of Tonasket on July 26 and grew into one of the largest fires in Washington's recorded history, burning well over 150,000 acres. By the first weekend of August, all of Oroville was under a Level 2 evacuation notice and thousands of homes were without power from Tonasket to the Canadian border.

Down in Chelan County, the Little Giant Fire pushed Chelan PUD to issue its first-ever public safety power shutoff watch for the Chelan and Manson areas, warning customers that power could be cut deliberately for up to 24 hours to keep lines from sparking new fires. That watch ended without an outage this time, but the concerns customers raised are the same ones we hear at the counter: private wells, internet and cell service, keeping food cold, and medical equipment.

Planned shutoffs during fire weather are becoming a normal part of life across the West, and lines that burn take time to rebuild. Whether the grid goes down from a fire, a windstorm, or a January ice storm, the folks who rode it out comfortably this summer were the ones who already had their own power on site.

That's why now is a great time to get started on your off-grid or backup setup. Fall is the best season to build: it's cooler on the roof and the rack, panel prices are low, and you'll have the system dialed in before winter, when you'll want it most. A few places to start:

• Figure out what you actually need to run (fridge, well pump, lights, internet)
• Size a battery bank to carry you through a multi-day outage
• Size the whole system for Pacific Northwest winters

Our customers are building some seriously good systems

We recently got to tour one of our customers' finished builds, and we came away impressed. Clean wiring, solid racking, everything labeled and laid out like it was meant to last decades. That's not a one-off, either. Many of you are doing high-quality, careful work with these panels, and it's a big part of why we love doing this. If you've got a build you're proud of, send us photos. We'd love to feature it.

Now the serious part, because we want every one of those systems to stay safe for the long haul:

• Follow the electrical code. Washington enforces the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), and solar and battery systems have specific requirements for overcurrent protection, disconnects, grounding, and labeling.
• Pull your permits and get inspected. In Washington, electrical permits come through L&I (or your city, where it runs its own program). Per L&I, a permit has to be bought by the electrical contractor or by the property owner who will actually be doing the work.
• Never backfeed your house panel without a proper transfer switch or interlock. During an outage, power sent back up the line can kill the lineworkers trying to restore it.
• Size wire and fuses for the real current, use rated DC disconnects, and keep batteries in a protected, ventilated, temperature-appropriate space.
• When in doubt, bring in a licensed electrician. There's no shame in a second set of eyes on the parts that can hurt you.

Solar news worth knowing

• Solar is leading America's power buildout. The U.S. installed 11.4 gigawatts of solar in the second quarter, up 45% from a year earlier, and solar plus batteries made up 70% of all new generating capacity added in the first half of 2026. There's now enough solar in the country to power more than 50 million homes, about one in three. And for do-it-yourselfers, the math is better than ever: at 21–22¢ a watt, our used commercial panels cost less per watt than new panels did even back when the federal tax credit knocked 30% off.
• Record-setting cells. LONGi announced a 35.5%-efficient perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell in July, a new world record. For comparison, the panels in our yard run around 15–16%.
• Bigger panels are coming. Trina Solar showed off a commercial-size tandem panel that hit 29.2% efficiency and 907 watts. Don't hold your breath for these at the hardware store; the technology still has to prove it lasts outdoors. But it's a good sign of where things are headed.

Coming soon: batteries, inverters, and installs

Panels are only one piece of the puzzle, and we've heard you loud and clear. We're working on new offerings:

• Batteries to store what your panels make
• Inverters to turn it into usable household power
• Templated installations through contractor partners: proven system designs, installed by pros, for folks who'd rather not do it all themselves

We're not ready to announce details yet, but we will be soon. Drop your email in the box below to hear about it first, or follow us on Facebook.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for supporting a local, veteran-owned business. See you at the yard.