After a successful second investment round, North American solar panel manufacturer Silfab Solar can now officially announce it is planning to open a third U.S. solar module production facility that will also include solar cell manufacturing.
Silfab has been featured in local news reports out of Fort Mill, South Carolina, as shopping a manufacturing site that could support 800 jobs outside Charlotte, North Carolina. The solar company had first expressed plans to start solar cell manufacturing over a year ago. Silfab’s new ELITE solar panels use a proprietary X-pattern technology on the cells, which would require in-house made cells.
Silfab today said it believes the third U.S. manufacturing facility will be fully operational in 2024 with an initial annual capacity of 1 GW of cells and 1.2 GW of solar panels.
“Domestic production of solar cells represents a strategic effort to further manage our supply chain and to apply our technical prowess from the ground up for a comprehensive manufacturing process,” said Paolo Maccario, Silfab CEO.
Canadian-headquartered Silfab operates twin 400-MW solar module plants in Washington. With this third manufacturing plant, the company should reach 2 GW of panel capacity in the United States.
The third plant is made possible by a $125 million investment from ARC Financial Corp.’s Energy Fund 9, which includes co-investments by Manulife Financial Corporation, Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan, CF Private Equity and BDC Capital’s Cleantech Practice. ARC is an established energy-focused private equity fund manager.
“Silfab has grown more than 40% since ARC’s initial support. We are thankful for our collaborative relationship with ARC and with the Biden administration and its Inflation Reduction Act, both enabling us to accelerate our U.S. manufacturing strategy. Our growth means more solar jobs for America and reliable energy that customers will use to reduce both costs and their carbon footprint,” Maccario said.
