Solar cell manufacturing remains a critical, under-supplied leg of the solar supply chain and requires more capital than module assembly, where the United States has significant capacity.
The pause comes as the Trump administration’s executive order to halt federal spending on climate and energy has caused widespread confusion and uncertainty in the industry. It remains unclear what the administration’s plan is for the disbursement of US Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. Since its passage in 2022, an unprecedented amount of investment in US clean energy manufacturing has been announced.
Premier Energies said it still has plans, but they are now on hold until clarity returns to the market.
“We are waiting for the regime in the US to settle down and be clear on what they want to do. As of now, we have only heard and read that the IRA has been paused,” said Chiranjeev Saluja, managing director of Premier Energies.
The factory plans were announced in July 2024. Module manufacturer Heliene planned to start a joint venture with Premier Energies to source 1 GW of n-Type cells for its module assembly operations in the United States.
Heliene currently sources solar cells from Premier’s Hyderabad facility for its module manufacturing operations in Mountain Iron, Minnesota.
