A $125 million investment round led by ARC Financial will help fund Silfab’s next expansion of ‘made in America’ manufacturing
March 8, 2023
BELLINGHAM, Wash.—Photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer Silfab Solar Inc. reported that it raised a second investment round, led by ARC Financial Corp., to help fund its next expansion of manufacturing in America.
The expansion will include domestic PV cell and module production at Silfab’s third solar manufacturing facility to open in the United States. The facility is expected to be fully operational in 2024, with an initial annual capability of 1 gigawatt cell production and an additional 1.2 gigawatts of PV solar module assembly, the company said in a release..
The $125 million investment from ARC’s Energy Fund 9 includes co-investments by Manulife Financial Corporation, Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan, CF Private Equity, and BDC Capital’s Cleantech Practice. It is said to reflect ARC’s continued confidence in Silfab’s ability to meet increasing demand for high-quality PV modules through a sustainable growth strategy.
That strategy is guided by Silfab’s leadership team and built upon 40 years of experience in the solar industry. According to Brian Boulanger, CEO of ARC, Silfab is “ideally situated to meet North America’s growing appetite for domestically manufactured cutting-edge solar products.”
“ARC remains confident that Silfab will be a driver in clean tech manufacturing and U.S. engineered product innovation. Silfab continues to implement an impressive growth plan built around its unwavering commitment to manufacture high-quality products and its decades of innovation and experience,” Boulanger said in the release.
According to Silfab, investing in U.S.-made solar cells is critical to a clean supply chain that supports the manufacturing of solar panels for North American customers.
“Domestic production of solar cells represents a strategic effort to further manage our supply chain and to apply our technical prowess from the ground up for a comprehensive manufacturing process,” said Silfab Chief Executive Officer Paolo Maccario, in a statement.
ARC’s first investment, announced in September 2021, enabled Silfab to make further enhancements to production lines at its existing Washington facilities. These enhancements were needed to deploy next-generation PV modules to North American consumer, business, and institutional markets, according to the release.
“Silfab has grown more than 40 percent since ARC’s initial support. We are thankful for our collaborative relationship with ARC and with the Biden administration and its Inflation Reduction Act, both enabling us to accelerate our U.S. manufacturing strategy. Our growth means more solar jobs for America, and reliable energy that customers will use to reduce both costs and their carbon footprint.”
The new facility is expected to generate more than 800 new U.S. jobs. Other details of the new facility, including location, will be announced at a future date, according to the release.
Silfab said it uses best-in-class automation for “ultra-high efficiency module production” at its manufacturing facilities across North America, It also leverages partnerships for next-generation technology applications, and offers “industry-leading warranties for residential and commercial performance,” the company said.
Backed by these warranties, Silfab manufactures modules that it describes as “among the most durable, reliable and powerful solar PV modules for the North American residential and commercial markets.”
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