Breaking News: Announces new solar manufacturing plant in Michigan
Suniva has announced a new 200MW module assembly plant in Saginaw Township, Michigan. SolarWakeup spoke to Matt Card, Suniva VP of Global Sales & Marketing, about the announcement this morning.
“Suniva is adding 200MW of module manufacturing capacity in Michigan in addition to the 175MW of cell capacity already in place in Georgia,” said Matt Card. “Michigan offers great logistical capabilities for bulk shipping, like modules, in order to reach customers.”
The announcement makes sense with Michigan’s long term goals to be a solar manufacturing leader and creating a cluster in the area. The manufacturing capability will also allow Suniva to create more US made solar modules for the growing marketplace. Suniva manufactures high efficiency cells and modules already, continues to expand its capacity to serve the solar market.
See more on the Suniva manufacturing announcement that follows the SolarCity/Silevo manufacturing announcement a few weeks ago. Expect that Suniva will be up and running in the near future on this plant however.
Money and more of it continues to pour into the solar market. While this is not a headline in and of itself it is interesting to note the changing landscape of solar funding. For example, GTM Research in its update on residential solar financing includes a Property Accessed Clean Energy (PACE) firm for the first time in my recollection (feel free to let me know otherwise). Nicole Litvak includes Renewable Funding, Cisco DeVries’ firm who pioneered PACE and recently plunged back into the residential sector. Renewable is now chasing Renovate America’s HERO program in the resi space. HERO who has brazenly pioneered hundreds of millions of dollars in residential energy option upgrades despite Fed level chagrin is notably missing in the GTM taxonomy. (Note: they just raised another $50M in equity funding). Take note of another nod to potentially more of this to come, the inclusion of deregulated energy marketers, Viridian (SolarCity) and Choose Energy (OneRoof Energy) on the GTM report. These models bundle solar in an “energy choice” consumer discussion which one could see as giving it a strong context. In the case of the Viridian/SolarCity deal the leverage is a personal connection via direct sales. Makes one wonder who will Ambit Energy partner with on the solar side? A takeaway and job security for solar sales reps: With all the technology in the world we still buy from people we like and trust.
–Glenna Wiseman in for Yann Brandt
News
- EcoWatch: Renewables Account For More Than Half of 2014′s New U.S. Energy Capacity
- Iowa Telegraph Herald: Ruling paves way for solar energy growth
- PV Solar Report: Renovate America Brings in Another $50 Million for HERO Financing
- Greentech Media: Solexel, Thin Silicon Solar Startup, Lands $31M More in VC Funding
- Bloomberg: Ascent Solar to Raise $32 Million in Sale of Convertible Notes
- Hydrogen Fuel News: European Investment Bank issues loan to ambitious solar power project in Israel
Opinions
- Renewable Energy World: Who Pays for Countervailing Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels?
- Greentech Media: The Solar Industry’s Tax Credit Conundrum
Education
- GTM Research: Who Finances Residential Solar in 2014?
- Alt Energy Stocks: Fifteen Clean Energy Yield Cos: Company Structure
Have a great day!