By Paul Gerke, Renewable Energy & World
Don’t call it a comeback! For the first time in years, a company is making solar cells in the United States.
Suniva, which lays claim to the title of “oldest U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells,” recently restarted production at its Norcross, Georgia facility and has sent out the first shipments of its made-in-the-USA product to North American manufacturer Heliene.
Matt Card, Suniva’s president and chief operating officer, celebrated what he called “a historic milestone” on LinkedIn.
“Suniva has fulfilled its promise to bring back solar cell manufacturing to the United States! America’s oldest and largest solar cell manufacturer is producing,” he wrote.
Suniva had been inoperative since 2017 when the company filed for bankruptcy, but bolstered by Inflation Reduction Act incentives, announced plans to give it another go last fall. The cells manufactured at the Norcross facility are the first to qualify for the 10% Domestic Content Bonus Investment Tax Credit under the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s guidance published in May 2023. The company wants to ramp up production to produce about 1 gigawatt (GW) of cells per year.
In May, Heliene signed a $400 million, three-year sourcing contract to incorporate Suniva’s U.S.-made solar cells into its U.S.-made solar modules. The company has a facility in Ontario, Canada, and a growing footprint in Minnesota.
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