Canadian Solar today announced it is establishing a 5-GW solar wafer production facility in Chonburi, Thailand. This n-type wafer manufacturing plant will begin production in March 2024.
Canadian Solar TOPCon module
The solar wafers produced at this factory will initially be used at Canadian Solar’s existing TOPCon cell manufacturing plant in Thailand in the same location. Once Canadian Solar’s just-announced solar cell manufacturing operation in Indiana gets started in 2025, then the wafers from Thailand will supply the U.S. factory.
“Establishing this solar wafer factory in Thailand is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our U.S. customers with a more diversified and resilient supply chain, complementing our recently announced investments in the U.S. in solar cell and solar module manufacturing,” said Thomas Koerner, senior VP of Canadian Solar. “Importantly, it will also allow us to responsibly meet the new requirements related to the latest and adjusted AD/CVD ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce.”
Canadian Solar expects to open a 5-GW solar panel assembly facility in Texas before the end of this year. The company will make TOPCon solar panels for the utility-scale market. Canadian Solar also has manufacturing operations in China, Brazil, Vietnam and Thailand, and will use materials from those facilities until the U.S. operations gets more established.
