US solar manufacturer SEG Solar has announced plans to build a third module manufacturing plant in the US, with an annual production capacity of 4.6GW, which will bring the company’s total operational manufacturing capacity to 10.6GW.
The 1.15 million square foot facility will be built in Greater Houston, in the US state of Texas, where the company is headquartered. SEG expects to complete construction at the factory by March 2027 and begin commercial production of heterojunction technology (HJT) modules in May 2027.
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While the company is not the largest US-based solar module manufacturer by annual production capacity—First Solar has around 14GW of capacity in operation—the move is an important step in SEG’s plan to build a more robust vertically-integrated solar manufacturing operation in the US. The company plans to open its second module manufacturing plant in Houston by the end of this week and has started construction on a 3GW ingot and wafer manufacturing plant in Indonesia.
Crucially, the company claims that it has been designated as a non-PFE (prohibited foreign entity). The PFE title was introduced by the Trump administration as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) for companies that benefit from government subsidies for manufacturing in China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
PFEs are not able to benefit from a number of clean energy tax credits that have become a cornerstone of renewable energy development in the US, including the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit and the 48E Investment Tax Credit. SEG Solar’s designation as a as a non-PFE company means it will not be targeted by the ongoing Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) investigations that have cracked down on companies perceived to be benefitting from involvement with Chinese firms, even though the company is advancing an upstream manufacturing facility in Indonesia.
SEG Solar also announced today that it is “evaluating potential US sites for a dedicated HJT manufacturing facility” as it looks to onshore more of its manufacturing capacity and build a vertically integrated cell and module supplier.
