4.5 GW: A big US solar cell factory is coming to South Carolina
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Suniva is set to establish a 4.5 GW solar cell factory in Laurens, South Carolina, with plans to open in Q2 2027. This expansion will increase Suniva's total US solar cell capacity to over 5.5 GW annually, making it the largest merchant solar cell manufacturer in the country. The 620,000-square-foot facility will require over $350 million in investment and is expected to create more than 550 jobs in advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
Suniva is planning a major expansion in US solar manufacturing, with a new 4.5-gigawatt (GW) solar cell factory coming to Laurens, South Carolina.
The company says the facility is expected to open in Q2 2027. Once it’s online, Suniva’s total US solar cell capacity will top 5.5 GW annually, including its existing factory in metro Atlanta. That would make it the largest merchant solar cell manufacturer in the US.
The new plant will be a 620,000-square-foot facility backed by more than $350 million in investment. It’s expected to create more than 550 jobs in advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
Suniva manufactures high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells. The company has been around since 2007, when it spun out of US Department of Energy-funded research at Georgia Tech. It filed for bankruptcy in 2017, but made a comeback in 2023.