Silfab Solar Inc.solar module manufacturer, has closed a second round of investment led by ARC Financial Corp. to fund Silfab’s next production expansion into domestic solar cell and module production at a third facility to be opened in the United States.
The $125 million investment from ARC’s Energy Fund 9 includes co-investments from Manulife Financial Corp., Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan, CF Private Equity and BDC Capital’s Cleantech Practice.
“Silfab is ideally positioned to meet North America’s growing desire for domestically manufactured high-end solar products,” said Brian Boulanger, CEO of ARC. “ARC continues to believe that Silfab is a driver of clean technology manufacturing and product innovation in the US. Silfab continues to execute an impressive growth plan based on its unwavering commitment to manufacturing high-quality products and decades of innovation and experience.
Silfab’s third plant is expected to be fully operational in 2024. The initial annual capacity is 1 GW of cell production and an additional 1.2 GW of solar module assembly. The new facility is expected to create more than 800 new jobs.
Other details about the new facility, including the location, will be announced later.
“Domestic solar cell production represents a strategic effort to further manage our supply chain and apply our technical know-how from the beginning to a comprehensive manufacturing process,” says Paolo Maccario, CEO of Silfab. “Silfab has grown by more than 40 percent since ARC’s initial support. We are grateful for our cooperation with ARC and the Biden administration and its deflationary legislation, which has allowed us to accelerate our US manufacturing strategy.
ARC’s first investment, announced in September 2021, allowed Silfab to make further improvements to production lines at its existing Washington facilities to deploy next-generation solar modules for the North American consumer, business and institutional markets.
