Nextnova Solar, a solar cell manufacturing company based in Oklahoma City, has announced plans to open a 2 GW solar cell manufacturing facility in a 458,000 square-foot building in nearby Yukon, Oklahoma.
The company plans to begin work on the facility in November 2026, with mass production starting in March 2027. Nextnova says the facility will initially require 300 workers, but notes that the facility has the potential to scale to 5 GW of annual capacity with demand, which may result in additional employment.
In public-facing materials on its website, the company touts its fully integrated Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and advanced process control laboratory. The company also promises “complete material traceability” and that it says will enable customers to verify product origin, demonstrate regulatory compliance, support ESG reporting and rapidly investigate quality-related issues.
“Nextnova is being built to deliver more than high-efficiency solar cells,” said Nextnova chief strategy officer Nathan Miller in a statement. “We are creating a manufacturing platform that gives customers greater confidence through advanced technology, rigorous quality systems and complete transparency across the supply chain.”
The Nextnova announcement comes at a time when domestic module manufacturers are facing new tariffs on imported solar cells under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which impose a price floor and 15% ad valorem tariffs on all imports of solar cells, which apply to the base cost of the imports and stack together, potentially raising the price of imported cells above the cost of similar cells from domestic suppliers.
The U.S. does not currently have enough domestic solar cell production capacity to meet the needs of module assemblers. According to the latest numbers shared by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) on its U.S. Solar Manufacturing Dashboard, the capacity of operational U.S. solar cell facilities is now around 10.6 GW, with another 23.1 GW announced or under construction, while operational module assembly capacity now tops 74.1 GW, with 26.7 GW planned or under construction.
Nextnova to present at Solar Manufacturing USA 2026
Nextnova is among the sponsors of the Solar Manufacturing USA 2026 conference, presented by pv magazine USA, in partnership with Finlay Colville of Terawatt PV Research.
“Nextnova’s inclusion at the inaugural Solar Manufacturing USA 2026 event forms a direct match with one of the major themes underpinning the conference — revealing the companies that are currently investing into new solar cell manufacturing sites in the United States,” said Colville, adding “The presentation by the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, Nathan Miller, promises to be one of the highlights of the opening sessions. Following the latest Section 232 action, the strategic imperative to invest in and build out the U.S. domestic solar supply chain has never been more critical.”
The conference takes place on September 22 and 23, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Registration is open now.
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