Canadian Solar Sets Sights on 5 GW Wafer Unit in Thailand

Solar manufacturer Canadian Solar is set to introduce a 5 GW solar wafer production unit in Chonburi, Thailand. The manufacturing facility, which will boast N-type wafer, will be operational by next year in March. In 2024, it will supply to the TOPCon cell manufacturing unit in Thailand. Later, by year 2025, the wafers will be employed in Canadian Solar’s 5 GW cell plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Thomas Koerner, Senior Vice President of Canadian Solar, stated, “Establishing this solar wafer factory in Thailand is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our US customers with a more diversified and resilient supply chain, complementing our recently announced investments in the US in solar cell and solar module manufacturing. Importantly, it will also allow us to responsibly meet the new requirements related to the latest and adjusted AD/CVD ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce.”

AD/CVD are additional duties determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce which offset unfair low prices and foreign government subsidies on certain imported goods. AD/CVD rates are in some cases significantly higher than other importation duties.

Canadian Solar operates massively in China but also makes panels in Brazil, Canada, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Indiana cell unit of Canadian Solar should kickstart production by the end of 2025. Other than its Indiana facility in the USA, Canadian Solar also boasts a solar module assembly plant located in Mesquite, Texas. The Texan facility will produce TOPCon modules.

Earlier, e-STORAGE, an arm of Canadian Solar Inc., received a supply and integration contract worth 1 GWh DC in Arizona. Under the agreement, e-STORAGE will offer energy storage solutions for DEPCOM Power, Inc. and Tucson Electric Power (TEP). The project boasts rated capacity of 200 MW and comes with an aggregate storage of 800 MWh AC capacity. This project by Canadian Solar arm is said to be among the largest in Arizona.