US solar developer Nexamp will develop 31 community solar projects across the country in partnership with retail giant Walmart.
The sites are expected to generate over 120MW of solar power, Nexamp said, across the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and Minnesota. They will build on the 2021 community solar partnership the two companies signed.
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“Walmart’s energy strategy aims to enable affordable and reliable solutions that drive positive outcomes for our communities,” said Frank Palladino, vice president of Renewable Energy Strategy for Walmart.
Through its investment into Nexamp’s operations (the financial details of which were undisclosed), Walmart will have access to the projects’ renewable energy credits (REC) and tax benefits.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Walmart is the fifth largest corporate buyer of solar power in the US. The four companies with the most investments in solar are all major technology and data firms (Amazon, Meta, Google and Apple).
Community solar is poised to play a growing role in the activity of outside corporations and financiers in the solar sector. In addition to the deals with Walmart, this year Nexamp has signed a deal with coffee giant Starbucks to build 40MW of community solar capacity in Illinois and secured US$520 million in capital financing from Manulife Investment Management.
An August report from energy industry analyst Wood Mackenzie forecast that the US will add 7.3GW of new community solar capacity by 2029, bringing the sector’s total capacity to over 14GW.
Silfab US module deal
Nexamp also announced a module supply deal with US-based solar cell and module manufacturer Silfab.
The first 125MW shipment of Silfab’s 580 XM+ DCB n-type modules will leave the company’s South Carolina manufacturing facility in “late Q2 2025.” The company did not confirm the total capacity or duration of the deal.
Silfab is one of very few US solar manufacturers that has successfully established domestic solar cell production. Last month, it secured US$100 million in financing to support the scaling of its 1GW TOPCon cell/1.2GW module plant in South Carolina.
In using US-made cells, Silfab’s modules are likely to meet the US domestic content requirement under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This offers an extra 10% tax credit—on top of the 30% investment tax credit (ITC)—for projects which deploy a minimum of 40% US-made solar products based on the total cost of a system or a module’s component parts.
Cells are the most expensive portion of a solar module, representing around 60% of the cost.
“Our partnership provides Nexamp significant access to a superior US solar product that enables them to further integrate domestic content into their project portfolios,” said Paolo Maccario, Silfab president and CEO.
Nexamp previously signed a module supply deal with Canadian solar manufacturer Heliene for TOPCon modules produced at Heliene’s Minnesota manufacturing plant.
