A Canada-based solar module producer, Heliene is planning to produce 1 GW of solar modules and 1.5 GW of solar cells at a new facility in Minnesota, the US. The new factory, which is anticipated to be in the Minneapolis – St. Paul region, is expected to start manufacturing modules in 2024 and cells in 2025. The company intends to invest around $145 million in the new facility, which will be the company’s first investment in the cells space.
It has received $5 million in equity and $150 million in credit from Orion Infrastructure Capital for the new facility. This is the family-owned company’s first equity raise. Presently, the company has module manufacturing facilities of 300 MW in Ontario, Cananda and 800 MW in Minnesota, the US.
Recently, in July 2023, First Solar, US-based manufacturer of solar modules announced its plans for an investment of $1.1 billion build its fifth manufacturing facility in the US.
In the same month, Revkor Energy Holdings Inc., a US-based company, and H2 Gemini Technology Consulting GmbH, a German supplier of industrial equipment, announced plans to construct a solar cell and module plant in Salt Lake City, Utah, the US. The objective of the collaboration is to promote perovskite, graphene, plastic recycling, and innovative tire vulcanisation techniques using its production and research facility in Utah.
REGlobal’s Views: The passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which gives tax credits for both sellers and buyers of clean energy equipment, has led to a flurry of investments in the solar module manufacturing space. Many players have announced plans to set up new facilities to cater to the US market. Heliene’s recent investment announcement is not only in scaling up its solar modules facility but also setting up a solar cell facility, which indicates the confidence in the US solar manufacturing space.
