A federal jury has found that solar component manufacturer Voltage infringed patents owned by Shoals Technologies Group through its sales of large-scale solar cabling devices in the United States, awarding Shoals more than $96.38 million in damages. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina also issued a preliminary injunction barring the manufacture, distribution, or sale of Voltage's infringing products.

The case centers on balance-of-system components — the cabling, combiners, and assemblies that connect solar panels to inverters and the grid — a segment where Shoals' Big Lead Assembly products consolidated multiple connections into factory-assembled harnesses, reducing field labor and wiring errors on utility-scale projects. Patent disputes in this space carry commercial weight because such components, while less visible than modules or inverters, are central to the cost and speed of large project construction.

The North Carolina verdict aligns with earlier decisions by the International Trade Commission (ITC), which determined that Voltage infringinged Shoals patents and violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act by importing infringing LYNX trunk bus products into the United States — a mechanism that can result in exclusion orders blocking infringing imports at the border. The LYNX product was found to infringe on Shoals' patents covering aspects of its Big Lead Assembly (BLA) products.

"Shoals' patented BLA solution helped revolutionize the solar industry," said Brandon Moss, CEO of Shoals. "These outcomes affirm the strength of our intellectual property and the importance of protecting the innovations behind our differentiated solutions. We are grateful to the Court and jury for their time, attention, and careful consideration. Shoals will continue to compete aggressively, invest in American manufacturing and defend the technology that supports our long-term growth."

Notably, the jury found that Voltage's next-generation trunk bus solution, LYNX PLUS, does not infringe on the Shoals patents, and the company will continue to market the redesigned solution in the United States — a distinction that leaves Voltage a path to remain in the U.S. utility-scale market even as the original LYNX product is enjoined.

Voltage released a statement strongly disagreeing with the jury's verdict and confirming that it will pursue post-trial remedies, a process that typically includes motions to the trial court and a potential appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which handles patent cases. Such challenges can extend final resolution by months or longer, and damage awards and injunctions may be modified or stayed in the meantime.

"We are confident in our record for appeal and the Court's prior findings that Shoals violated an agreement prohibiting its counsel's involvement in obtaining these patents," said Li Wang, CEO of Voltage Energy. "Voltage independently developed LYNX in 2021 through its own engineering efforts, three years before the patents asserted by Shoals were issued. Our focus remains on proudly powering the renewable energy industry."

Additional background on the dispute is available in prior coverage of the ITC proceedings (https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2026/06/itc-settles-shoals-voltage-patent-dispute/), and the verdict document can be viewed here (https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/shoals-verdict.pdf).