Materials science firm Corning has acquired JA Solar’s module assembly plant in the US state of Arizona.
A Corning spokesperson told PV Tech that the plant will be an asset of American Panel Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.
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“Corning is excited to leverage our advanced manufacturing expertise and expand our solar capabilities in Phoenix, Arizona, with American Panel Solutions,” said AB Ghosh, VP and general manager solar at Corning Incorporated, and chairman and CEO at Hemlock Semiconductor.
“This facility will manufacture solar modules to serve the demand for reliable, affordable energy in the United States.”
The sale of JA Solar’s module assembly plant in the US marks the second Chinese company selling its manufacturing facilities in the US. Last year, Trina Solar sold a 5GW module assembly plant in Texas to T1 Energy, formerly known as Freyr Battery.
Moreover, the announcement of JA Solar’s US manufacturing facility sale comes only weeks after US president Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill was passed into law. Among the provisions passed in the bill that will affect the solar industry, and more particularly Chinese companies, is the foreign entities of concern (FEOC) materials. FEOC restrictions will be enforced to limit the ability to benefit from production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC) incentives if material assistance from prohibited foreign entities exceeds certain thresholds, which will increase each year.
Unveiled back in 2023, Corning’s acquisition of the JA Solar facility will further solidify the company’s vertically integrated manufacturing capacity in the US. Last year, the company announced plans to build a solar wafer manufacturing plant in the Midwestern state of Michigan.
At the time of the announcement, the project had an estimated US$900 million in financing and was expected to receive tax credits. Earlier this year, polysilicon producer Hemlock Semiconductor, another subsidiary of Corning, had secured up to US$325 million under the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication facilities, and aims to secure semiconductor-grade polysilicon made in the US.
Furthermore, Corning partnered with solar manufacturers Sunniva and Heliene in March of this year to produce modules with components, from polysilicon to panels, manufactured in the US. In the partnership, Corning would provide the polysilicon and wafers made at its Michigan plants, while Suniva would produce the solar cells in Georgia and finally Heliene would assemble the modules.
