Silfab Solar, a solar PV manufacturer, has announced plans to invest $150 million in a state-of-the-art TOPCon solar cell facility located in York County, South Carolina. The plant, with an annual capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar cells, is expandable to 2GW with the addition of a 1.2GW module assembly plant, according to Silfab Solar.
Operations at the facility are set to commence during the third quarter of 2024, with the company aiming to generate approximately 800 jobs in the region. The solar cells produced at this facility will utilise n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology, aligning with Silfab Solar's commitment to having all its products transition to TOPCon technology by Q1 2024.
To support the construction of the plant, York County has been granted $2 million from the Coordinating Council for Economic Development.
Paolo Maccario, CEO at Silfab Solar, expressed, “Silfab Solar's investment in South Carolina strengthens our North American manufacturing capabilities, creates good-paying jobs, and provides the ideal East Coast location to serve our growing customers.”
This isn't Silfab Solar's sole solar cell plant endeavor in the United States. Earlier this year, the company announced the construction of another plant with an annual nameplate capacity of 1GW for n-type solar cells and 1.2GW of TOPCon modules. Commercial operations at this third U.S. manufacturing plant are anticipated to begin in the second half of 2024.
Silfab Solar currently operates two manufacturing plants in the United States, one in Bellingham and another in Burlington, both situated in the western state of Washington, near the Canadian border. Additionally, since 2010, the company has maintained an 800MW module assembly plant in Toronto, Canada.
At the recent RE+ event in Las Vegas, Silfab Solar unveiled new TOPCon modules, including one for the commercial segment (Silfab Commercial NTC) with increased output and higher efficiency, expected to be available in H1 2024. Another module, Silfab Prime NTC, targeting residential use, was also introduced.
In anticipation of growing demand, Silfab Solar secured an agreement with Norwegian wafer manufacturer NorSun for the supply of solar wafers. NorSun, meanwhile, has plans to establish a 5GW n-type ingot and wafer production plant in the United States. However, NorSun recently announced a temporary halt in production and staff layoffs at its Årdal plant due to an influx of “exceptionally low-priced” Chinese solar modules. It remains uncertain whether this development will impact NorSun's U.S. expansion plans.
