The series of activities involved in producing solar energy, from raw material processing and cell manufacturing through module assembly, project development, installation, and grid integration. ETFs in this space may focus on specific segments or provide broad exposure across the entire chain.

The physical panel that converts sunlight into electricity using semiconductor materials. Module manufacturers are typically among the largest holdings in solar ETFs: First Solar, JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar are all US-traded and appear in TAN. Several of the largest producers by volume, LONGi among them, list only on domestic Chinese exchanges and therefore fall outside US-listed solar funds.

The power-electronics device that converts the direct current (DC) output of solar panels into alternating current (AC) for the grid or building loads. Central inverters (Sungrow, Sineng, SMA) are large units, typically several MW each, used in utility-scale projects. String inverters (Sungrow, Huawei, GoodWe, Solis, Solax) cover roughly 3–350 kW for commercial-and-industrial and smaller utility-scale projects, and have taken share from central inverters in many utility-scale designs. Microinverters (Enphase, Hoymiles) operate at the panel level, providing per-module monitoring and superior shade tolerance at higher per-watt cost, and are widely used in US residential systems. Hybrid inverters (Deye, GoodWe, Sungrow) integrate a battery interface for solar-plus-storage applications.

A ground-mounted racking system that rotates solar panels to follow the sun across the sky, typically increasing annual energy yield by around 15–30% versus fixed-tilt depending on latitude, irradiance and design. Single-axis trackers rotate panels east-to-west on a north-south horizontal axis and are the dominant commercial type. Dual-axis trackers add a second tilt-adjustment axis but are generally uneconomic for utility-scale projects. Terrain-following trackers are a further variant, engineered to tolerate a change in ground slope between adjacent foundation posts so that a row can follow undulating land; the tolerance is quoted in degrees of slope change per post, and a higher figure can reduce site grading, civil works and structural steel on constrained sites. Trackers add incremental capex versus fixed-tilt, so project economics depend on site, financing and energy-price assumptions. They are widely used in new US utility-scale installations. Key listed suppliers include Nextpower (formerly Nextracker), Array Technologies, Arctech Solar, and FTC Solar.

The annual fee an ETF charges to cover stated operating costs such as management and administration, expressed as a percentage of assets. Depending on the source it may be quoted gross or net of contractual fee waivers. It does not capture every cost of owning a fund: brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, any premium or discount to NAV, and — for futures funds — roll effects are all separate. All else equal, a lower expense ratio means less annual fee drag on returns.

The net value of the assets an ETF holds. AUM indicates fund scale, but it does not by itself determine liquidity or trading costs; bid-ask spreads, trading volume, market makers and the liquidity of underlying holdings also matter. AUM changes with market prices and fund inflows or outflows.

One. The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) is the only US-listed ETF with dedicated solar exposure. The Global X Solar ETF (RAYS) is no longer available: Global X announced its closure on 31 July 2025, the fund stopped trading on 22 August 2025 and liquidated at the end of that month, having never gathered meaningful assets. That leaves solar as a one-fund category in the US, unlike nuclear and uranium where several funds compete, so investors who want more than one vehicle have to step out into broader clean energy and renewable power ETFs that hold solar alongside other technologies.

TAN is the only dedicated solar ETF available to US investors, so it is simultaneously the cheapest and the most expensive one; its expense ratio is shown in the table above. That fee sits above what broad clean energy funds such as the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN) or the First Trust Clean Edge Green Energy ETF (QCLN) charge, but those funds spread exposure across wind, hydro, grid and storage names as well as solar, so the comparison is not like for like. Fee is also not the only cost of ownership: bid-ask spreads and any premium or discount to NAV apply on top.

Because solar is a one-fund category in the US, the alternatives are either broader funds or individual stocks. Diversified clean energy and renewable power ETFs that hold solar names alongside other technologies include the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN), the First Trust Clean Edge Green Energy ETF (QCLN), the ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES), the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW) and the SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF (CNRG); the Global X Renewable Energy Producers ETF (RNRG) takes the generator side specifically. How much solar each one actually carries varies widely: on GSR's look-through of their published holdings in August 2026, solar-primary companies accounted for 36% of ICLN but only 7% of RNRG. The section above sets out the full comparison and the classification rule behind it. Investors who want a specific segment instead, such as module manufacturing, inverters or trackers, generally buy the underlying companies directly.

Solar ETFs invest exclusively in companies involved in solar energy production, equipment manufacturing, and related services. Renewable energy ETFs provide broader exposure across multiple clean energy sources including solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal. Solar ETFs offer more concentrated exposure to the solar industry’s growth but carry higher sector-specific risk.

Solar ETFs hold companies from across the solar value chain, not utilities alone. In TAN that means module manufacturers (First Solar, JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar), inverter and power-electronics companies (Enphase Energy, SolarEdge Technologies, SMA Solar Technology), tracker and balance-of-system suppliers (Nextpower, formerly Nextracker, and Array Technologies), upstream polysilicon and solar glass producers (Daqo New Energy, Xinyi Solar, Flat Glass Group), residential installers (Sunrun), and developers and independent power producers that own operating solar plants (Enlight Renewable Energy, Clearway Energy). Those segments do not move together: module makers are exposed to polysilicon and panel pricing, while developers are exposed to interest rates and power prices.

That depends on your objectives and risk tolerance, and nothing on this page is a recommendation. What can be said about the category is that solar equities are cyclical and policy-sensitive: tariffs, subsidy and tax-credit changes, interest rates (which set the cost of project finance) and polysilicon and module pricing all feed through to earnings. A single-technology fund concentrates those risks; it does not spread them. Because solar is a one-fund category in the US there is no second index or sponsor to diversify across. Broader clean energy and renewable power ETFs cover the same companies with more technologies alongside them.