Solar cell manufacturer ES Foundry has completed a 2 GW addition to its Greenwood, South Carolina factory, marking the start of a greatly expanded manufacturing platform.
Pushing ES Foundry’s domestic production capacity to 3 GW, the expansion is set to bring more than 400 advanced manufacturing jobs to Greenwood County, according to the company. Officials add that the move “reinforces the company’s role as a leader” in the domestic solar cell space, bolstering the U.S. solar supply chain at large.
For ES Foundry CEO Alex Zhu, “this milestone is about execution.”
“The U.S. solar market does not need more announcements,” Zhu says. “It needs operating capacity, proven production and domestic suppliers that can support customers now. With our 2 GW expansion complete, our total capacity now at 3 GW and the first cell off the new line, ES Foundry is helping close one of the most critical gaps in the U.S. solar supply chain.”
The factory expansion comes at a crucial time for the American solar industry, representatives from ES Foundry say. The market is flooded with announcements of future manufacturing, but the grid strain is happening right now, creating a potential production vacuum which ES Foundry says it plans to capitalize on.
Striking while the iron is hot
ES Foundry’s Greenwood facility has an outsized focus on crystalline bifacial PERC solar cells, the company says. These panels are a “proven, bankable technology” in the solar space, and are designed to support a broad swathe of applications, and the new expansion will provide high-volume production to a U.S. industry in need of fast, reliable manufacturing.
“Customers are looking for manufacturing partners that can do more than promise capacity,” Zhu says. “They need partners that can produce, document and deliver. This expansion strengthens our ability to support customers at scale while helping build a more resilient and competitive U.S. solar supply chain.”
ES Foundry is swooping in at a potentially perfect time, officials say, as upping production will help customers reduce supply chain uncertainty. That uncertainty is at an all-time high thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its byproduct of heightened FEOC restrictions.
In response, the company’s expanded platform will support all module manufacturers seeking American-made cells, as well as developers and IPPs stuck navigating a now-complex solar cell procurement environment.
“Domestic solar cell manufacturing is not a future ambition — it is happening now in Greenwood, South Carolina,” Zhu adds. “This milestone reflects the hard work of our team, the strength of our community and the confidence our customers have placed in ES Foundry. We are proud to help lead the next chapter of American solar manufacturing.”
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