Silfab Solar Raises $125 Million to Build Third US Cell Factory

North American PV module manufacturer Silfab Solar has announced a second investment round led by ARC Financial Corporation to help fund the next expansion of Silfab Solar, whose third facility is to open in the United States of America. This will include domestic PV cell and module production.

The $125 million investment from energy-focused private equity fund manager ARC’s Energy Fund 9 includes co-investments by Manulife Financial Corporation, Ontario Power Generation, Pension Plan, CF Private Equity and Cleantech Practice.

Silfab Solar mentioned that the investment reflects ARC’s confidence in Silfab’s ability to meet increasing demand for high-quality PV modules owing to its 40 years of experience in the solar industry.

“Silfab is ideally situated to meet North America’s growing appetite for domestically manufactured cutting-edge solar products. ARC remains confident that Silfab Solar will be a driver in clean tech manufacturing and US engineered product innovation,” said Brian Boulanger, CEO of ARC.

The third US solar manufacturing facility of Silfab Solar is anticipated to be fully operational in 2024 with an initial annual capability of 1 GW cell production and an additional 1.2 GW of module assembly. It will also generate more than 800 new US jobs.

Paolo Maccario, CEO of the firm stated, “Silfab Solar 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 US manufacturing strategy.”

Previous Stint

Sifab Solar held that ARC’s first investment, announced in September 2021, enabled Silfab to make further enhancements to production lines at Washington facilities in order to deploy next-generation PV modules to North American consumer, business, and institutional markets.

Silfab claims to manufacture one of the most durable, reliable and powerful solar PV modules for the North American residential and commercial markets. The solar firm recorded more than a dozen expansions of production capacity, most recently with solar module assembly plants in Washington.