Meyer Burger Nixes US Solar Cell Factory Plans
Swiss manufacturer Meyer Burger has announced it is not moving forward with the development of a 2 GW cell factory in Colorado, saying the plans are “no longer financially feasible.”
The company’s German cell plant, previously slated for retirement, “will continue to form the backbone of Meyer Burger’s solar cell supply,” the company said in a statement Monday.
The company said it will now return its focus to its new 1.4 GW module plant currently ramping up in Goodyear, Arizona. A tentative plan for a 0.7 GW expansion there has also been shelved but “remains an option.”
Continuing to supply Goodyear’s production lines with cells produced in Germany is “the most economical option” in the current market, Meyer Burger said.
The Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit (PTC) established by 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act has led to many announcements of new solar module and cell factories in the U.S., but a handful of those cell plant plans have since been walked back, with manufacturers citing financial difficulties.
“The debt financing previously sought through the monetization of 45X tax credits will continue to be pursued on a reduced scale, tailored to module production in the U.S.,” Meyer Burger said.
When its Colorado Springs cell plant was initially announced in the summer of 2023, Meyer Burger expected to have it up and running by the end of this year. In a June press release announcing the start of production at the Arizona HJT module plant, the company said updated timing for the cell plant was contingent on closing of 45x financing.
As a result of this “revised strategy,” a partnership with an unnamed U.S. technology company, first teased in a June press release, has fallen through. The company expected to finalize the agreement by the third quarter of this year, in what was aimed at developing “a solar module that is manufactured in
the U.S. with an increasing share of domestic components.”
It’s unclear how the mothballed plans could complicate other contracts. In June, Meyer Burger announced a three-year offtake deal with a “major U.S. energy company” to buy up to 1.75 GW of modules starting in early 2026. A two-year extension option would become effective upon the completion of the cell plant’s financing, Meyer Burger said.
Reporting by Colt Shaw, cshaw@opisnet.com
Editing by Aaron Alford, aalford@opisnet.com
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