Turkish solar module manufacturer launches production in Texas

From pv magazine USA

Elin Energy, a Turkish PV module manufacturer, is now producing solar modules in Texas.

The company, founded in 1981, has long supplied solar modules to the European solar market. Due to the passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act, it now plans to do the same in the US market.

Under the name Sirius PV USA, the company began production in March at a new module factory in Waller County, near Houston, Texas. It is leasing the facility, which was previously used as a distribution center.

The company said it has an agreement with key US distributors and will begin with 1 GW of annual production, with plans to increase to 2 GW within 18 months. Sirius PV USA currently employs more than 100 associates in Texas, and reportedly plans to scale up to 500 associates as it increases production.

While Elin Energy is producing tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules at its facility in Turkey, Sirius PV USA CEO Ercan Kalafat told pv magazine USA that it will initially use passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) technology in the United States, with plans to shift to TOPCon from July. Its PERC modules are bifacial and range from 410 W to 580 W, catering to residential, commercial and utility-scale markets.

In Turkey Elin Energy’s main products are 580 W TOPCon (bifacial, silver-framed) modules, but it also makes other types of modules, including glass-to-glass panels. The company said that its combined manufacturing capacity in Turkey, across three factories, is 3.5 GW per year.

Kalafat said that the company sess the United States as pivotal in its strategy to become a global brand. He noted that the US market offers significant opportunities for the company to establish itself as a global player alongside its Chinese-origin competitors.

Elin Energy joins a raft of other solar module makers who have set up production in Texas, or plan to do so, including Trina Solar, Canadian Solar and SEG Solar.

Trina Solar has said it will invest about $200 million in a Texas manufacturing plant with an annual manufacturing capacity of 5 GW. Its new factory is expected to begin producing its Vertex line of modules with 210 mm wafers later this year. The company said it expects to bring 1,500 jobs to Texas.

In June 2023, Canadian Solar announced an investment of $250 million in a factory in Mesquite, Texas, bringing 5 GW of TOPCon module manufacturing capacity, and also creating about 1,500 jobs.

SEG Solar, a maker of TOPCon solar modules, said in September 2023 that it was setting up a module manufacturing facility in Houston, with plans for production to begin in March 2024. Future plans include manufacturing both cell and ingots in the United States.

Mission Solar has been manufacturing solar modules in Texas for more than 10 years. Last year, the company announced plans to expand production by 1 GW.