Tandem PV opens ‘next-generation’ solar module manufacturing facility
Silicon Valley-based solar panel manufacturer Tandem PV has opened a new factory in Fremont, California, which it claims will help commercialize the use of new, high-efficiency panels in utility-scale projects.
The new 65,000 square foot site will focus heavily on producing perovskite-silicon solar panels, according to Tandem PV officials. These panels offer up to a 30% efficiency boost, as well as lower production costs, at the expense of a shorter lifespan and a dip in durability. But Tandem representatives say the trade is well worth it for the numerous benefits that perovskites offer.
“This factory marks the shift from impressive R&D results to repeatable manufacturing at a commercially meaningful scale,” says Tandem PV CEO Scott Wharton. “People have talked for years about the promise of perovskites. This is what it looks like to deliver. It is an important milestone in restoring American leadership in solar manufacturing through the kind of breakthrough engineering Silicon Valley is known for.”
The move comes partially as a response to the data center boom of the 2020s, the company says. With AI work loads requiring more electrical capacity all the time, Tandem is working to reshore manufacturing of advanced solar panel technology like perovskites and demonstrate that such panel designs can be built at scale in the U.S. going forward.
Producing Tandem’s new modules
The new factory builds on Tandem’s existing research and development knowledge of perovskite panels, which will include 29.7% efficiency, based on the company’s internal testing. The production line will produce about 40 MW of capacity each year, using panels about 60 times larger than the company’s testing panels, for use in utility-scale projects.
“Tandem PV’s proprietary technology combines a thin perovskite light-absorbing layer with a conventional silicon solar cell,” company officials say. “By capturing more of the solar spectrum than silicon alone, tandem panels generate more electricity from the same footprint. The higher efficiency lowers overall costs, especially because labor, land, and balance of system costs account for roughly 75% of utility-scale solar deployment costs.”
Tandem PV has already begun producing initial modules at the new facility, representatives say. The company adds that it plans to begin selling its first commercial panels from this factory at some point this year, and is targeting “high-volume manufacturing” figures by 2028.
“Utility-scale perovskites are here,” says Jennifer Granholm, former U.S. Secretary of Energy under the Biden administration. “Tandem PV is delivering an ingenious product that can help provide more clean power with a smaller footprint and meaningful cost savings as we scale deployment in the United States.”
