US company DYCM Power has announced plans to build a 6GW solar cell and module manufacturing facility in the US, which is planned to start commercial operation in the first half of 2026.
DYCM Power is a joint venture, formed by investor APC Holdings and real estate company Das & Co., which is looking to take advantage of the opportunities available for US renewable power manufacturing in the wake of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). DYCM Power plans to invest US$800 million into the facility, which it will develop in partnership with Macquarie Capital, and expects the factory to begin operation with an annual production capacity of 2GW, before scaling up to its full operating capacity.
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“The IRA created a unique opportunity for the US to re-establish itself as a leader in solar manufacturing,” said Sriram Das, co-founder and executive chairman of DYCM Power. “With the support of Macquarie Capital and our world class partners, we are taking a significant step towards solar technology self-sufficiency and strengthening America’s energy security, while also setting a new standard for quality and sustainability in solar manufacturing.”
The company is currently “finalising” its site selection process, but noted that it would be somewhere in the the south-east of the US.
It has already signed a supply agreement with a “leading US-based polysilicon provider” and signed a memorandum of understanding with a North American glass manufacturer, but has not yet provided further details on those deals. Other collaborators include Mortenson, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company that will manage the construction of the facility; and ECM Greentech Engineering, which will work on the manufacture of silicon cells and the assembly of solar modules.
The news follows growing interest in the US manufacturing space, with figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie suggesting that the country’s solar manufacturing capacity has nearly quadrupled in the two years since the passage of the IRA. While there have been disruptions to some manufacturing facilities—most notably Meyer Burger’s scrapping of a proposed manufacturing plant in Colorado—the IRA has, for the most part, been effective in encouraging investment in domestic manufacturing.
On a global scale, however, there is cause for pessimism, with Solar Media head of research Finlay Colville writing for PV Tech this week that the global PV manufacturing downturn endured this year may persist until 2026.
