The photo voltaic trade just lately welcomed the biggest silicon photo voltaic cell manufacturing outfit to ever open its doorways inside america — the 3-GW manufacturing unit operated by ES Foundry in Greenwood, South Carolina.
There have been many announcements by corporations wanting to begin photo voltaic cell manufacturing in america, however only a few have made actual progress since manufacturing tax credit had been first included within the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Just one firm began cell operations earlier than the tip of 2024 — Suniva in Norcross, Georgia. That manufacturing unit had a neater begin than others, contemplating the location had already manufactured silicon photo voltaic cells for practically 10 years earlier than shutting down in 2017. Suniva up to date gear and is as soon as once more supplying U.S. panel meeting vegetation with American-made PERC photo voltaic cells.
ES Foundry in South Carolina. Credit score: Photo voltaic Energy World
Now the nation has its second cell manufacturing unit, and its largest. Not solely is ES Foundry producing extra cells than Suniva (3 GW in comparison with Suniva’s 1 GW), however it’s approaching provide offers in a different way too. Whereas Suniva has gone the frequent route of initiating provide agreements with U.S. panel assemblers, ES Foundry is as an alternative working with large-scale mission builders and utilities to ensure home content material provides. If a mission wants American-made panels, ES Foundry will pen a three-way contract with the developer and their most well-liked module vendor. Though the companions weren’t publicly revealed, ES Foundry has already signed a type of three-way contracts in a multi-gigawatt supply agreement.
At ES Foundry’s ribbon chopping final week, home panel producers, mission builders and utilities had been in attendance, desperate to see the dimensions at which ES Foundry will quickly be working — product is rolling off the strains proper now, and the corporate expects to succeed in 1 GW of producing capability by March after which 3 GW by August. Any quantity of home cells is a scorching commodity, ES Foundry CEO Alex Zhu informed Photo voltaic Energy World on the occasion.
“Home content material is essential,” he mentioned. “Everybody wants the ITC, [especially] if it’s modified that you just want home cells.”
ES Foundry in South Carolina. Credit score: Photo voltaic Energy World
There are various questions surrounding President Trump’s assist of the Inflation Discount Act and its provisions which can be supportive of home deployment and manufacturing of photo voltaic. One assumption is that the funding tax credit score (ITC) shall be up to date to require domestic content to obtain the total credit score quantity. And proper now, the best method for photo voltaic panels to qualify as “home” is to make use of American-made cells.
ES Foundry is making bifacial PERC cells, a logical option to keep away from the unpredictable way forward for TOPCon panel production in america. The cells first begin as grey silicon wafers and undergo many steps on their seven-hour journey to completed product — issues like diffusion, etching, oxidation, again passivation, plasma enhanced chemical vapor disposition and display screen printing. The “diffusion” step is probably going an important, as that’s when the dope paths (p- and n-type processes) are established. Solely when the diffusion step is completed on American soil can a photo voltaic cell be thought-about domestic-made and qualify for any home content material benefits.
Zhu mentioned that whereas the 4¢/W 45X manufacturing credit is a pleasant bonus for photo voltaic cell makers, ES Foundry is extra involved with assembly home content material necessities for its finish clients. That home content material play is what is going to maintain ES Foundry going whereas President Trump’s agenda is ironed out.
SPW visits the plant
ES Foundry in South Carolina. Credit score: Photo voltaic Energy World
The very first thing observed upon approaching the ES Foundry constructing is the dimensions — the manufacturing unit is massive with fuel offtakes coming off its sides. The “foundry” is in a former constructing utilized by Fujifilm to make inkjet paper and different photograph merchandise. Zhu mentioned that the peak of the Fujifilm constructing is what first attracted him to the house, as there aren’t many current 70-ft tall manufacturing websites in America. Fujifilm occupied 5 tales of the constructing; ES Foundry knocked out 4 tales to make one massive open house to accommodate chemical piping and manufacturing gear. The constructing’s top might probably accommodate silicon ingot pulling and wafering sooner or later, if monetary elements make sense, Zhu mentioned. It might be distinctive to have a web site able to go and never depend on a green-build.
The distinction between a panel assembler and a cell producer is obvious directly. Photo voltaic panel producers are assembling cells, backsheets, junction bins and frames. Cell producers are extra chemical-focused and depend on a clear operation. Earlier than coming into the plant, employees (and guests) must don head-to-toe protecting gear and stroll by an air tub to take away airborne contaminates. Zhu mentioned ES Foundry is ready to supply many of the chemical substances utilized in manufacturing — phosphorus, silicon nitrate, and many others. — in america, whereas, in fact, the wafers, silver paste and aluminum paste are coming from Southeast Asia.
ES Foundry in South Carolina. Credit score: Photo voltaic Energy World
Apart from discovering a constructing that was the correct top and outfitted with important electrical energy and wastewater hookups, ES Foundry was lucky the native Greenwood workforce was already aware of chemical processing. Ascend, a nylon polymer and fiber producer simply down the road, just lately introduced it was closing its doors. ES Foundry has already employed many former Ascend workers and is holding extra job gala’s regionally. Development on ES Foundry’s inside took simply eight months, and 125 employees are actually on the payroll. The corporate expects to have 300 workers by the tip of March and 500 by Q3, which might make ES Foundry one of many largest employers in Greenwood.
This can be the 12 months for extra solar cell manufacturers to come back on-line in america. Qcells is near opening its wafer-cell-panel operations in Georgia and Silfab remains to be hopeful to start cell manufacturing in South Carolina. Different corporations like Boviet Photo voltaic (North Carolina) and Canadian Photo voltaic (Indiana) might start silicon cell operations inside the subsequent 18 months. They’ll be a part of Suniva and ES Foundry within the revitalization of the U.S. photo voltaic manufacturing trade — and never a minute too quickly.
“The longer term begins now,” Zhu mentioned, as ES Foundry executives formally reduce the ribbon on the nation’s largest photo voltaic cell manufacturing plant.
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