Mission Solar Energy, one of the longest running manufacturers of solar panels in the United States, will soon also make solar cells after its parent company OCI Holdings has announced new production plans.
OCI Terrasus Polysilicon processing
OCI will invest $ 265 million in the site, which should start with commercial production in 2026. The factory will have an annual capacity of 1 GW with space to grow up to 2 GW. OCI will deliver the polysilicon from his subsidiary of Malaysia OCI Terrasus. No official details have been released at the wafers manufacturer.
“The establishment of this new subsidiary of the solar cells marks the start of solysilicon made by the US with polysilicon of Oci Terrasus in a clean supply chain. This cost-efficient and accelerated project will form the basis for further strengthening our solar valve chain in the US, chairman of Oci Hy-Hyun.
In his 2024, OCI Holdings had stated that it is considering introducing a joint venture to build an American solar supply chain, but President Trump’s accelerated tariff policy pushed OCI to set up a new subsidiary to strengthen his competitiveness on the American market.
The only other details about cell production outfit is that it will be ‘at Mission Solar Energy’, which currently has a factory in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar has a panel production capacity of around 500 MW per year, according to OCI. The company intended to increase its capacity annually to 1 GW, but it appears Those expansion plans were put on hold. Instead a 200,000 ft2 Warehouse is built on the building and it seems that the space will now house the production of cells and module.
“While our nation is experiencing a revival of American production, we are expanding our capacities to deliver completely domestic solar solutions,” said Sam Martens, president of Mission Solar Energy. “Applying solar cell production to our facility underlines our dedication to American production, job creation and a transparent, ethical supply chain.”
Mission Solar has usually delivered panels to the residential market in the United States, but started making bifacial modules last summer.