US manufacturer Inox Solar Americas has signed an 800MW module supply agreement with what it describes as a “leading US renewable energy developer”.
Inox said that it would supply its Vega Series of bifacial passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) modules to two utility-scale solar PV projects, with a respective capacity of 300MW and 500MW, in Colorado and Georgia. These modules are to be built with Galaxion cells and have a conversion efficiency of 21.32%. Inox expects to begin module deliveries next year.
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Both the Vega modules and Galaxion cells were initially developed by Boviet Solar, which is headquartered in Vietnam. Inox Solar, the Indian parent company of Inox Solar Americas, acquired Boviet’s US-based manufacturing facilities in April, and Inox leadership expressed optimism that the new module supply deal means US developers have been able to source modules from a US company [subscription required].
“As the industry places greater emphasis on domestic manufacturing, supply-chain transparency, regulatory compliance, product reliability and long-term bankability, we are well positioned to deliver high-performance PV modules that meet the evolving technical and commercial requirements of large-scale solar projects across the United States,” said Inox Solar Americas president and CEO Ashok Nair.
Nair added that the deal demonstrates the company’s “long-term commitment to the American solar market,” which has seen significant investments made across the manufacturing space in recent years to strengthen the domestic supply chain. Last week, PV Tech Research experts wrote a series of five guest blogs for PV Tech in which they outlined some of the challenges facing the US manufacturing space and how the sector could change to the end of the decade.
Chief among these challenges is the disparity between operational cell and module manufacturing capacity in the US, which, according to head of research Moustafa Ramadan, stands at 77.3GW for modules and just 26.5GW for cells. Inox will look to narrow this gap in the next year, having already announced plans to add a 3GW cell manufacturing facility to the 3GW module manufacturing plant acquired from Boviet Solar earlier this year.
Inox’s module supply deal this week follows a similar deal signed last week, in which Inox agreed to supply 767MW to a US independent power producer (IPP). This deal also included the Vega Series of modules and Galaxion cells, although Inox has not specified if the same companies are involved in both deals.
Ramadan will speak at our annual PV CellTech USA conference in San Francisco on 13-14 October. The event covers the full US solar supply chain, from polysilicon to modules, and will tackle topics including the current policy landscape and the opportunities for US cell manufacturers. For full details and booking, click here.
