Recently, Japanese cell and module manufacturer Toyo Solar announced plans to build a 2GW module manufacturing plant in the United States, expected to begin production next year.
Toyo Solar, a subsidiary of Vsun Solar, will focus on producing TOPCon modules. This plan was disclosed in the company's semi-annual report, which noted that in the first half of 2024, the company had supplied 985MW of cells to the U.S. market and aims to deepen its customer relationships through the new factory.
To support this investment, Toyo Solar will allocate $100 million. Given the favorable legislative environment in the U.S., the company expects to recover most of the investment costs within 12 months of the plant's launch.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Toyo Solar anticipates receiving tax credits of $12 per square meter for wafer production, as well as $0.04 per watt for cell production and $0.07 per watt for module production, which will result in significant financial benefits.
Regarding production plans, Toyo Solar expects the new factory to achieve a production output of 1.4GW in its first year, gradually increasing to 2GW of annual capacity, with an estimated $84 million in tax credits.
Additionally, Toyo Solar plans to start domestic cell production in the U.S. by the first half of 2026 and has announced the construction of a wafer slicing plant, although the specific date remains undecided.
This investment announcement comes amid a surge of investment in the U.S. solar manufacturing sector. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $71 million in funding to support domestic silicon and thin-film manufacturing projects. Swiss manufacturer Meyer Burger also closed its German factory this summer to focus on opening a new manufacturing plant in the U.S. At the 2024 Intersolar exhibition, Meyer Burger’s CEO Gunter Erfurt stated that the decision had proven to be correct.
However, last week, Meyer Burger suddenly announced the cancellation of its planned cell manufacturing facility in Colorado, citing that the facility was "no longer financially viable." This development has brought some uncertainty to the U.S. solar manufacturing industry.
Nevertheless, Toyo Solar's decision seems largely unaffected. This investment announcement follows a significant improvement in the company's performance during the first half of the year. The semi-annual report shows that the company turned a net loss of $1.9 million in the first half of 2023 into a profit of $19.6 million in the first half of 2024. The gross profit margin reached 19.3%, with operating income surging from a loss of $1.7 million to $22.5 million.
In February of this year, Vsun Solar signed a long-term polysilicon supply agreement with Korean polysilicon producer OCI, ensuring a stable supply of raw materials. In April, the company opened a 4GW wafer plant in Vietnam, enhancing production capacity and market competitiveness.
For companies looking to further expand into the U.S. market, the road ahead may not be smooth. As calls for tariffs on solar products from Southeast Asia grow louder, the company could face new challenges. Earlier this year, the U.S. Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose tariffs on products from Southeast Asian countries outside of China, citing the dumping of Chinese products in neighboring countries to evade U.S.-China trade restrictions. According to the committee, between April and August this year, solar panel exports from Vietnam to the U.S. increased by 39%. The imposition of new tariffs could disrupt this trend, significantly affecting companies with operations in Vietnam, such as Vsun Solar and Toyo Solar.
Source：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/aec3FeJS-X5imKBQN2xp2Q
