Canadian Solar opens US solar cell factory in Indiana
CSIQ•Canadian Solar opens Indiana solar cell factory
July 24 (Reuters) - Canadian Solar CSIQ.O opened a solar cell factory in Indiana on Friday that the company says will help fill a major gap in U.S. solar manufacturing by producing a key component that is largely produced in Asia.
The U.S. is seeking to build a domestic solar supply chain through tax incentives and trade measures aimed at reducing dependence on imports. China controls about 80% of the global solar supply chain.
Nearly $1 billion investment to make 6 GW of cells annually
The nearly $1 billion investment by Canadian Solar's U.S. manufacturing arm, CS PowerTech, is expected to produce 6 gigawatts of cells annually and employ more than 1,200 people once it reaches full production by early next year.
"For us this is a tremendous milestone," Canadian Solar CEO Colin Parkin said in an interview.
Canadian Solar, which is based in Ontario, Canada, is one of the biggest solar equipment manufacturers in the world, with factories in China, Southeast Asia and the United States.
HJT plant to supply Texas module factory as expansion continues
The Jeffersonville, Indiana, facility is the first U.S. plant designed to make heterojunction, or HJT, solar cells, a high-efficiency technology that Parkin said offers better performance than conventional technologies and has more room for future improvements.
The United States has added significant solar module assembly capacity since the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act created a tax credit for advanced clean energy manufacturing. But production of cells that are assembled into panels has lagged, leaving manufacturers dependent on imports.
Output from the Jeffersonville plant will be used by Canadian Solar's module factory in Mesquite, Texas, which is being expanded to 10 GW of annual capacity.
