Solar module manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies has announced a plan to build a 3GW new solar cell and module manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Maxeon said the new manufacturing plant, consisting of a solar cell fabrication, panel assembly, a warehouse, will produce its latest-generation tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) PV-silicon cell technology and proprietary : shingled- crystalline-cell of high-performance modules.
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With an investment of over US$1 billion, the new manufacturing plant will serve the utility-scale solar power market and distributed generation rooftop applications.
“The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has catalysed a new chapter in the US’ energy transition. Our new solar cell and panel facility in New Mexico is an ambitious and concrete response to the need to decarbonise the US economy,” said Mulligan.
In June, Maxeon completed the expansion and renovation of its PV manufacturing plant in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
Q2 financial performance
Moreover, the company posted a slightly dropped financial performance as its adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 2.4% to US$30.2 million, but will be against a strong headwind in Q3.
The company said demand in the global distributed generation (DG) market weakened significantly in late Q2 due to the US higher interest rates, the impact of policy disruption in California, and significant channel inventory industry-wide.
Maxeon CEO Bill Mulligan said: “We expect these challenging market conditions to persist at least through Q3, particularly in residential, and we have increased our sales focus on the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment as a result.”
However, Maxeon’s shipments increased from 774MW in Q1 2023 to 807MW in Q2 2023, representing a 4.3% growth. Revenue in Q2 was US$348.4 million, increasing from US$318.3 million or by 9.4% from the previous quarter.
Capital expenditures (CAPEX) increased by 46.5% quarter-on-quarter to US$24.2 million from US$16.5 million in Q1.
“We therefore expect a somewhat higher mix of C&I sales over the next few quarters with some push-out of volume from Q3 to Q4 and into 2024 due to the longer sales cycles associated with C&I projects,” Mulligan added.
Looking forward, Maxeon expected its shipments in Q3 2023 will be from 700-740MW, dropping by 9.1%-13.3%. Adjusted EBITDA in the current quarter will be between US$2-US$12 million, dropping significantly by 60.3%-93.4%. Revenue in Q3 is also expected to drop US$280 million-US$320 million.
CAPEX will continue to rise, reaching US$29 million-US$35 million.
For the fiscal year of 2023, Maxeon said the adjusted EBITDA will be within a range of US$80 million-US$100 million. CAPEX will be between US$150 million-US$170 million, up from the a previous estimation of US$100-120 million.
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