Mayor of Greenwood Brandon A. Smith; ES Foundry CEO Alex Zhu; John R. McCravy, III, South Carolina House District 13; and Greenwood County Councilmember Dayne Pruitt. Credit: ES Foundry/PRNewswire.

US-based ES Foundry has inaugurated a new solar cell manufacturing facility in Greenwood, South Carolina.

The factory, covering an area of more than 400,000ft², is expected to hire 500 people by June 2025.

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With this new facility, the company is expected to become the largest producer of high-quality crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells in the US.

It is set to have a shipment capacity of 3GW by the third quarter of 2025.

The establishment of the new factory is expected to contribute significantly to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)’s target of achieving 100GW of renewable energy manufacturing capacity, including 50GW of solar production, by 2030.

ES Foundry’s crystalline bifacial passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells are designed to cater to the growing demand for domestically produced solar modules.

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ES Foundry CEO Alex Zhu stated: “Today, we are not just celebrating a factory — we are forging a path to a more sustainable, energy-secure future for America.

“Our advanced solar cells are engineered and manufactured right here in the United States, ensuring reliability, efficiency and the opportunity to maximise financial incentives for our partners.

“The facility’s strategic location in Greenwood highlights ES Foundry’s dedication to supporting local communities, generating high-quality jobs and driving regional economic development.”

In December 2024, Hanwha Qcells Georgia was given a $1.45bn loan guarantee by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) to fund a solar supply chain facility in Cartersville, Georgia, US.

The fund will be used to build an ingot and wafer production plant in the US – the first fully integrated silicon-based solar manufacturing facility in the country in more than a decade.