An aerial view shows organized rows of solar panel arrays installed on farmland. Photo: Mark Stebnicki / Pexels
Energy industry reporter
An aerial view shows organized rows of solar panel arrays installed on farmland. Photo: Mark Stebnicki / Pexels
(The Center Square) – Atlanta-based Sunniva announced Tuesday it will invest $350 million in a manufacturing plant in South Carolina in a move that would make the company the only large-scale, American-owned and operated maker of solar cells.
When completed, the plant will more than double U.S. solar cell manufacturing capacity, now at 3.2 gigawatts. These cells, along with silicon wafers and finished modules, are core components in the solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
The plant will be capable of manufacturing solar cells with 4.5 gigawatts of capacity annually, Sunniva said in a statement. The company expects 564 full-time workers will be employed at the plant at the Hunter Industrial Park in Laurens County with production beginning in early 2027.
“Solar energy is the fastest and most economical way to grow our nation’s energy supply,” said Sunniva CEO Tony Etnyre. “Our expansion means that domestically produced renewable energy will do more than ever to secure America’s energy future.”
Sunniva and another South Carolina-based company, ES Foundry, together possess 2 gigawatts of annual solar cell manufacturing capacity, while Canadian firm Silfab Solar operates a 1-gigawatt plant just south of the state’s border with North Carolina.
U.S. producers have the capacity to assemble 50 gigawatts of panels, but a shortage of domestic solar cells means most manufacturers must still import these core components from countries like Indonesia, Laos and India.
“This investment strengthens our commitment to innovative energy solutions, and we are proud to welcome Sunniva to Laurens County,” said Gov. Henry McMaster.
South Carolina Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey called Suniva’s decision to build the plant in Laurens County a “significant win for rural economic development.”
The Sunniva plant will sell the solar cells to U.S.-based solar panel assemblers, providing them with the American-made components needed to unlock a 10% domestic content bonus tax credit established under the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Sunniva began in 2007 as a spin-off from Georgia Tech’s University Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics, a research hub funded by the Department of Energy.
“At this moment in history, the question of where our energy comes from – and who controls the supply chain that delivers it – is among the most consequential questions America faces,” said Sunniva president and COO Matt Card. “Suniva’s answer is straightforward: we build it here.” 
Energy industry reporter
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