Project developers and utilities need greater certainty around infrastructure procurement as electricity demand surges and renewables deployment accelerates. The distribution transformer is the key piece of equipment connecting generation resources and loads to the grid, and right now the supply chain for that equipment is under serious strain.
Lead times have stretched to over a year. Domestic manufacturing can meet only about 20% of total demand, according to Wood Mackenzie, which also estimates that transformer prices have risen 70% to 100% since January 2020, driven by inflation in raw materials including electrical steel and copper.
Import dependency is compounding the problem. In 2024, China accounted for over 32% of U.S. low-voltage transformer equipment imports. Grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), a critical transformer component, has only a single domestic U.S. source. Reshoring efforts and domestic manufacturing capacity expansions are underway, but the U.S. is not expected to reach self-sufficiency anytime soon.
Unlike traditional low-frequency distribution transformers, Alderbuck’s solid-state transformer and power conversion systems do not rely on GOES and are manufactured in the United States. Our solutions reduce supply chain uncertainty, are not subject to tariff exposure, and can reduce lead times by up to 50%.
