No nation has affected international photo voltaic panel provide chains greater than the USA. For the reason that increase of photo voltaic within the early 2010s, the U.S. authorities has chased Chinese language companies internationally, initiating tariffs on merchandise as they’re “dumped” into the U.S. market at uncompetitive costs.
Elite Photo voltaic cell manufacturing plant in Egypt. Credit score: Photo voltaic Energy World
When the Dept. of Commerce first positioned antidumping tariffs on Chinese solar panels in 2012, the producers shifted manufacturing to Taiwan after which Southeast Asia. No matter China’s involvement, Southeast Asia grew to become the core photo voltaic panel manufacturing spot till the USA put extra tariffs on product from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Operations started transferring once more, and now the USA is taking a look at India, Indonesia and Laos for more antidumping measures.
One space that hasn’t seen intense provide chain scrutiny is the Center East and Africa (MEA). The area is rising as a really perfect place to arrange silicon photo voltaic panel manufacturing to keep away from tariffs and provide the USA with much-needed photo voltaic product that complies with international entity of concern (FEOC) necessities.
That is the background of how an American photo voltaic journalist discovered herself in Egypt touring a photo voltaic cell and panel manufacturing advanced.
Singapore-headquartered ELITE Solar formally commissioned its 3-GW panel, 2-GW cell manufacturing advanced in Egypt’s Suez Canal Financial Zone (SCZone) earlier this month with a go to by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. U.S. companions and different visitors have been invited out just a few weeks later.
The 450,310 ft² advanced broke floor in December 2024 and extremely started manufacturing in 12 months. ELITE Photo voltaic already has many provide agreements with U.S. challenge builders and signed a take care of a serious U.S. developer on the grand opening final week.
rPlus Energies CEO Luigi Resta stated that ELITE’s new Egypt services will profit future generations because the world tackles local weather change. He paraphrased a line from Deuteronomy, “We drink from wells we didn’t dig and sit within the shade of timber we didn’t plant.”
Factories in Egypt
ELITE Photo voltaic was based in 2005 as ET Photo voltaic and has all the time had a particular concentrate on supplying the U.S. market. In 2023, the corporate rebranded as ELITE Photo voltaic after splitting with its utility development arm to focus completely on panel manufacturing. ELITE additionally has cell and panel manufacturing operations in Indonesia and is establishing a photo voltaic wafer manufacturing facility in Vietnam with OCI Holdings, a long-time associate.
The corporate makes PERC and n-type photo voltaic panels utilizing 182- and 210-mm wafers. The photo voltaic panels for the utility-scale market attain 630 to 725 W with efficiencies over 23.3%.
ELITE invested roughly $115 million on the mixed manufacturing services in Egypt, with SCZone itemizing employment figures at 400 for the cell plant and 460 for the panel meeting aspect. Throughout final week’s tour, the panel manufacturing facility had extra employees on the meeting flooring whereas the cell operation was rather more automated. Autonomous robots moved across the manufacturing facility flooring, positioning racks to maneuver cells to their subsequent manufacturing step. The automation at ELITE’s Egypt operations is way extra superior than something seen at cell and panel manufacturing setups in the USA.
MEA recognition
Egypt is rising as a clear power manufacturing hub, and never only for photo voltaic panels. Inside the SCZone, JA Solar recently announced it might make its personal cell and module manufacturing advanced, and Sungrow signed an agreement to make battery power storage techniques within the zone. GCL also intends to develop photo voltaic cells in Egypt, and extra battery and transformer makers are wanting on the nation too.
The Center East is rising in recognition, with Jinko and TCL taking a look at Saudi Arabia for operations, United Photo voltaic establishing polysilicon manufacturing in Oman and GameChange Photo voltaic working tracker manufacturing in Saudi Arabia. A assessment of Customs and Border Safety (CBP) information reveals an uptick in photo voltaic cells coming from Ethiopia after Toyo’s plant started production and Origin Photo voltaic shipped its first orders, likely for Canadian Solar. NE Photo voltaic/ZNShine simply this week stated it’s now working a cell factory in Nigeria, displaying that photo voltaic manufacturing is increasing throughout Africa.
At ELITE Photo voltaic’s Egyptian grand opening, each ELITE Chairman Derek Liu and OCI Chairman Woo Hyun Lee wore cowboy hats that they stated represented the “cowboy spirit” of what they’re doing collectively. Lee long-established Liu as a “fashionable Genghis Khan” for ELITE’s early entry into the Egyptian market, main the way in which for photo voltaic domination throughout the area.
Trending Merchandise
