Solar One Wraps Ring Container’s Rooftop in Solar
Solar One designed, owns, and operates the ~1MW Rockford array under a PPA and used the SolarEdge 40% ITC domestic content pathway.
Solar One Wraps Ring Container’s Rooftop in Solar
Solar One designed, owns, and operates the ~1MW Rockford array under a PPA and used the SolarEdge 40% ITC domestic content pathway.
At a Glance
- Customer: Ring Container Technologies
- Developer / Asset Owner: Solar One
- Location: Rockford, Illinois
- System Size: 932 kWdc / 720 kWac
- Installation Type: Rooftop, metal roof — dual tilt (flat + angled)
- Modules: 1,607 × Jinko ~580 W bifacial
- Inverters: 6 × SolarEdge SE120KUS Three Phase Synergy
- Optimizers: 1,607 × SolarEdge C651U
- Est. Year-1 Production: 1.176 GWh
- Site Energy Offset: ~7% of an 18 GWh annual load
- Financing: PPA + 40% ITC (domestic content)
A One Stop Strategy for 40% ITC Domestic Content
SolarEdge provided a unique streamlined pathway for the 30% Investment Tax Credit with the 10% domestic content bonus.
The strategy spanned racking, modules, and project-level due diligence tools by tax firm Novogradac. That was on top of SolarEdge’s qualifying 50% domestic content and 40% Material Assistance Cost Ratio (MACR) for Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) compliance requirements. That all-in-one pathway is a key element of Solar One’s fixed-rate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to Ring. See https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-26-15.pdf for more tax credit information.
Installer Insight
“SolarEdge was one of the few companies to offer a truly end-to-end solution for rooftop and carport projects to secure the 40% ITC including the domestic content bonus — working across racking, modules, and a CPA tax firm, Novogradac for AUPs, to build a real step-by-step safe harbor pathway. It was a cohesive strategy that allows developers to focus on developing projects, knowing SolarEdge will handle the domestic content piece from step one to the finish line. That was a huge relief, and something we implemented at Solar One across multiple applications.”
— Aaron Wilson, CEO, Solar One
Customer Perspective
“This project reflects Ring’s belief that sustainability is built into how we operate every day. The Rockford solar installation represents a smart, forward-looking investment that reduces emissions, increases efficiency, and reinforces our long-term reliability as a manufacturer.”
— Brian Smith, President & CEO, Ring Container Technologies
A Packaging Leader Puts Its Roof to Work
For more than 50 years, Ring Container Technologies has been a trusted packaging partner to leading brands, delivering cost-effective, sustainable rigid plastic packaging, the kind of containers that hold everyday products from cheese balls to peanut butter on store shelves nationwide. Operating across multiple U.S. sites, Ring has paired growth with a deepening sustainability program, earning three consecutive EcoVadis Platinum ratings (2023–2025) and the U.S. Plastics Pact Sustainable Innovation Award.
Its Rockford, Illinois manufacturing facility is a high-consumption operation running multiple shifts day and evening. Ring saw an opportunity to convert an otherwise idle rooftop on a recently expanded portion of the building into on-site renewable generation, curbing energy costs while advancing its corporate ESG commitments.
Solar One, a leading U.S. commercial and industrial solar developer with roots in the Texas market, designed, built, and now owns and operates the system under a PPA. They deliver renewable power to Ring at a fixed rate with no upfront capital outlay from the customer.
The Challenge
Two different roofs, a metal deck, and a Chicagoland winter build
Mixed-tilt array on one roof. Roughly half the system was mounted flat and half at an angle for maximum sun exposure. It’s effectively two racking systems on a single installation, each with different tilt, shading, and mismatch characteristics to manage.
Metal-roof attachment. Unlike a standard ballasted system, the racking clamped directly onto the building’s metal roof structure, requiring the crew to dial in the right attachment approach before installation could ramp.
Cold-weather construction. The system was built through late September to late November 2025. Cold, rain, and snow, plus a metal roof that turns slick added safety and scheduling pressure across the roughly 8-week build.
The Solution
SolarEdge Three Phase Synergy Inverters + module-level optimization, domestic-content qualified
Solar One designed the system around six SolarEdge SE120KUS Three Phase Synergy inverters paired with C651U power optimizers on all 1,607 modules, with every inverter and connection mounted centrally on the north side of the building.
DC optimization for mixed tilt. Module-level optimization independently maximizes output from each panel regardless of tilt or orientation — directly addressing the flat plus angled geometry and any localized shading, so the two roof zones perform as one system.
Domestic content for the 40% ITC. SolarEdge provided one of the few truly end-to-end pathways to the 40% Investment Tax Credit, including the domestic content bonus — a coordinated strategy spanning racking, modules, and project-level due diligence tools by tax firm Novogradac, rather than just SolarEdge’s own qualifying percentage to the required threshold. That pathway is the foundation of the economics of Solar One’s fixed-rate PPA to Ring.
Module-level intelligence. Module level monitoring through SolarEdge ONE for C&I gives Solar One’s O&M team granular performance visibility for the life of the asset, plus built-in safety features.
Proven SolarEdge track record. Solar One selected SolarEdge on the strength of a seven-year working relationship, monitoring depth, innovation, and responsive support — letting them serve clients at the level they need.
Benefits
Reliable clean power, capital-light financing, and full performance visibility
Near-megawatt of on-site generation. An estimated 1.176 million kWh in year one, offsetting roughly 7% of the facility’s ~18 million kWh annual load. It’s a first phase as Ring actively explores expanding across other sites.
Capital-light for the customer. The PPA structure lets Ring buy renewable power at a fixed rate with no upfront system cost, while Solar One monetizes the 40% domestic-content ITC as owner.
Full-life performance visibility. Module-level monitoring via SolarEdge ONE for C&I lets Solar One’s O&M team track and optimize the asset over its operating life.
A repeatable model. Solar One and Ring are already in discussions on additional sites — a portfolio relationship rather than a one-off.
Environmental Savings
This PV system produces energy equivalent to:
