There’s been a push for the past several years to get more cleantech products produced in the United States. One of the key target products is solar panels, as well as the various components of solar panels. That has been encouraged through a variety of strong production incentives (brought into law during the Biden administration when Democrats controlled Congress) as well as through high tariffs, sometimes targeted (like under the Biden administration) and sometimes broader (like under both Trump administrations). We do now have one new solar panel assembly facility that has just gone into operation. This is a Translucent Solar factory located in Summerville, South Carolina. By the end of 2026, it should reach its maximum annual manufacturing capacity, 1.2 gigawatts (GW). It will be producing solar panels that are used for utility-scale, commercial, and residential solar projects. It is part of a “$15.6 million first-phase investment.” Translucent Solar started making moves into the US market in 2022 when it tried to partner with Philadelphia Solar, but nothing ever happened with that. This is not the end of its ventures into the US market, though. “Summerville is the first step in our multi-year plan, and we intend to expand into US cell and wafer manufacturing in the near future,” said Augustus Rylands, managing director of Translucent Solar. Image courtesy of Translucent Solar.
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