Longi, Invenergy to Build 5-Gigawatt Module Factory in Ohio
By Christian Roselund
US clean energy developer Invenergy has joined forced with China’s LONGi to announce plans to build the largest PV module factory in the United States. Through Illuminate USA, Invenergy will invest $220 million to acquire and equip a 100,000 square meter factory near Columbus, Ohio to build PV modules, with plans to produce 5 gigawatts of modules annually at the site. LONGi will serve as the technology partner, and the companies plan to being producing PV modules by the end of 2023.
The factory is expected to employ 850 permanent workers.
When fully ramped, Illuminate is expected to be the third-largest PV module maker in the United States, following First Solar (10.6 gigawatts by 2025) and Hanwha Q Cells (6.4 gigawatts by 2025), both of which are building new factories. It will be the second factory with the participation of a
Tier-1 Chinese PV module maker, following JinkoSolar’s 400-megawatt factory in Florida.
No cell manufacturing has been announced as part of this project and it is unclear where Illuminate will source its cells. China is the world’s largest maker of PV cells, but the 2012 anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders impose import duties on cells that are determined two years after these cells clear Customs. This and the addition of a 25% import tariff through Section 301 of U.S. trade law has essentially stopped all but the smallest volumes of cells from being shipped from China.
There is also substantial PV cell production capacity in Southeast Asia, however most of the cells made there are assembled into modules in the region, often as part of vertically integrate cell and module operations.
CEA expects more companies to announce US cell factories after the US Treasury issues guidance on the domestic content adder to the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC). We expect this guidance to determine whether a US-assembled module is given full credit or whether Treasury will assess the source of the cell and other module components towards the minimum domestic content threshold.
Source: Leading American Solar Developer Brings Landmark Manufacturing Facility to Ohio (One Columbus)
