Suniva secured $835 million in financing to move forward with a new 4.5 GW annual solar cell plant in South Carolina , bolstering the expansion of domestic photovoltaic manufacturing in the United States.
The future facility will be located in Laurens County and will produce high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells. Once operational, it will allow the company to increase its total planned capacity in the country from the current 1 GW to 5.5 GW .
The building's structure, spanning over 621,000 square feet , is now complete. Suniva estimates the project will require an investment of approximately $600 million and will generate 564 jobs related to advanced manufacturing.
The plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027 , while production should reach full capacity during 2028 .
The financing was structured through debt and equity with the participation of Lion Point Capital, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, I Squared Capital, JBA Asset Management, Electron Capital Partners, Orion Infrastructure Capital and Rubric Capital Management.
The new facility will complement Suniva's plant in Norcross, Georgia, which already has 1 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity .
With both assets, the company aims to consolidate a platform of 5.5 GW of annual cells manufactured in the United States , a segment of the chain that has been gaining relevance as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on imported components.
Suniva also argues that the expansion presents a lower level of commercial risk thanks to an existing national supply chain and long-term purchase agreements that would cover most of the planned future production.
The company did not, however, reveal who the buyers are or what specific volume is committed under those contracts.
“America’s energy independence and meeting the needs of the country’s growing energy consumption require domestic production of American solar cells,” said Tony Etnyre , CEO of Suniva.
The US adds another piece to its new wave of solar manufacturing
The move is part of a broader trend of industrial relocation of photovoltaics in the United States.
In May, SEG Solar announced a new 4 GW module plant in Houston, Texas , which will bring its total module production capacity in the country to approximately 6 GW.
This project envisions an investment exceeding USD 200 million , approximately 500,000 square feet of space, and the creation of up to 800 jobs. Commercial operations are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026.
More recently, Taiwanese companies Sino-American Silicon Products and United Renewable Energy announced a joint venture to install another 1 GW annual module factory in the United States, with an investment of approximately USD 40 million .
In the case of Suniva, the focus is one step higher in the chain: the manufacture of solar cells , a key component to sustain a domestic module industry with greater local integration.
The company is also moving forward with a reverse merger proposal with SUNation Energy announced in June 2026, whereby Suniva would merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of that company.
With the new South Carolina plant, Suniva aims to more than quintuple its production scale in the United States and position itself as one of the leading national suppliers of solar cells when the facility reaches full capacity in 2028.