Suniva locks in funding for 4.5 GW manufacturing expansion
Solar cell manufacturer Suniva has completed a capital raise of $835 million, officials say, comprising both debt and equity financing.
Provided by a team of “top-tier financial partners,” the financing round consists of facilities and investments from six different banking operations. The new capital will fund Suniva’s construction of a second U.S. solar cell manufacturing facility, and also aims to accelerate the firm’s expansion to a total capacity of 5.5 GW worth of solar cells.
The new 4.5 GW capacity manufacturing facility is currently under development in South Carolina, according to company officials. Set for full production ramping in 2028, the outer shell of the 621,468 square foot building is already complete as of September 2026.
“With our second state-of-the-art high-efficiency solar cell manufacturing facility, we expect to be able to meet the growing needs for a U.S.-based source,” says Tony Etnyre, CEO of Suniva. “We appreciate the strong partnership with South Carolina and the Laurens County community as we rapidly scale to meet this rising demand and strengthen the domestic U.S. solar supply chain while Suniva continues leading the next era of American solar manufacturing.”
Funding energy dominance for the U.S.
The new facility aims to keep the U.S. on track for not only energy independence, but energy dominance, officials say. Representing a $600 million investment as well as an anticipated 564 advanced manufacturing jobs, the factory will be “a major industrial anchor” for upstate South Carolina.
“U.S. energy independence and meeting the needs of increasing energy usage in the United States requires domestic production of U.S. solar cells,” Etnyre adds. “As the only U.S.-owned solar cell manufacturer at commercial scale, we believe Suniva is uniquely well positioned in the market. We look forward to helping the United States and the Administration achieve its important goal of U.S. energy independence.”
The entire expansion is de-risked, Suniva representatives claim, by a fully domestic supply chain already in place. Additionally, the company has long-term product offtake agreements with “leading U.S. solar players” for the majority of its future production.
Connor Arras, managing director of climate credit at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, says the company is “scaling from a position of strength.” This approach, he says, gives Goldman Sachs a major vote of confidence in the Atlanta-based company.
“They’re already producing at commercial scale, have locked in critical domestic supply relationships, and have long-term customer commitments covering their planned output,” Arras says. “Combined with a fully funded expansion, that gives us confidence in Suniva’s ability to become an even more important supplier to America’s solar industry as the country works toward domestic supply chain independence.”
