Convalt Energy is trying again. The company that bought the manufacturing equipment from the former SolarWorld facility for a new solar panel assembly site in New York has now set its sights on an “advanced manufacturing campus for the production of solar cells, solar modules, and solar glass” in New Mexico.
Convalt announced in 2021 that it was going to start a solar factory in Watertown, New York. Plans never progressed beyond land acquisition, and Convalt is paying back the $1.05 million loan the local government provided. The company began in 2011 as a solar developer working in Southeast Asia and Africa, and Convalt has since increased its efforts outside of the United States. Earlier this month, Convalt signed an agreement with the government of Lesotho in Southern Africa to develop 4.6 GW of solar.
Now the company has announced a binding purchase and sale agreement with Gallup Land Partners for a solar manufacturing campus in Gallup, New Mexico, that also promises up to 1 GW of behind-the-meter power generation.
“We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with Gallup Land Partners, further strengthening a relationship that leverages GLP’s deep roots within the Gallup community. We are also pleased to welcome GLP as a shareholder in Convalt,” said Hari “Harry” Achuthan, CEO of Convalt Energy,
Convalt expects the project to create approximately 900 permanent jobs and more than 1,000 construction jobs over a construction period anticipated to extend through 2028. Total investment is expected to reach up to $5 billion across all phases of development, Convalt says.
The Convalt website says the New Mexico site will be a 3.6-GW HJT cell and module manufacturing facility, noting that the company now has former Meyer Burger professionals on staff. The surface area of the plot is 2.5 million ft2.
