(Reuters) – Canada’s Heliene and India’s Premier Energies are planning a 1-gigawatt solar cell factory in the United States to satisfy demand for domestically made solar energy equipment.
WHY IT MATTERS
The U.S. solar manufacturing industry needs a domestic supply of cells, the building blocks of solar panels, in order to make products that can qualify for a generous new subsidy for American-made clean energy equipment.
Currently there are no U.S. suppliers of silicon solar cells, and President Joe Biden’s administration has been seeking to build up the domestic industry to compete with China.
Heliene and Premier Energies expect to begin production at their facility in the second quarter of 2026. The factory will be located in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area.
The facility will supply Heliene’s existing U.S. module factories, which are located in Minnesota.
KEY QUOTE
“Premier Energies has been a valued partner of Heliene’s for many years now and we share a commitment to providing the highest-quality, most-reliable products to solar customers. With
demand for U.S.-made modules and components growing, now is the perfect time to embark on the next phase of our partnership with this joint venture,” Heliene CEO Martin Pochtaruk said in a statement.
CONTEXT
Solar manufacturers are counting on a new 10% tax credit to project developers when their facilities use American-made panels to drive demand for their products.
To qualify for the domestic content subsidy, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act specifies that 40% of the cost of a project’s manufactured products, such as solar panels, must be made in the United States.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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