Swiss solar technology manufacturer Meyer Burger announced plans to build a new solar cell production facility in Colorado Springs, CO.

The plant will have an initial capacity of 2 GW, and will manufacture and exclusively supply “Made in USA” solar cells to the company’s solar module production facility in Goodyear, AZ.

The project, targeted to begin in Q1 of 2024, will be supported by a tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, the law signed by President Biden in 2022 which includes the U.S.’ largest ever set of climate-focused investments. The Act allocates nearly $370 billion to areas including renewable energy and industrial decarbonization solutions, including over $60 billion to accelerate domestic manufacturing of clean energy and transportation technologies through production and investment tax credits, loans, and grants.

The company added that the expansion of its strategy to “Made in USA” solar cells was made in response to new regulations in the U.S., based on guidelines announced by the U.S. Treasury Department for the qualification of domestic content, which allows an additional 10% bonus investment tax credit for U.S. solar projects.

Overall, the company estimated that it is potentially eligible for $1.4 billion of tax credits from 2024 through 2032.

Gunter Erfurt, CEO of Meyer Burger, said:

“Meyer Burger strongly believes that domestically manufactured solar cells will bring additional value to our customers, both in relation to using best-in-class high performance solar products ‘Made in USA’ and in terms of qualifying for additional tax credits.”

According to the company, the new plant will be developed from former semiconductor fabrication facility in order to enable the fastest possible market entry.

In order to meet the planned completion date, Meyer Burger will repurpose production equipment initially intended for the previously announced 2 GW solar cell expansion at its Thalheim site in Germany. As part of Meyer Burger’s successful application for the EU Innovation Fund, there are plans for a later expansion in Thalheim at a later stage.

Erfurt said:

“Meyer Burger is a driving force for the expansion of solar energy in the U.S. as well as in Germany and Europe. We would be pleased to lay the foundation for a transatlantic solar energy partnership and also expand our manufacturing in Germany and the European Union in the future.”

Erfurt added that the company is currently working on multiple offtake agreements with new customers in the U.S., and is exploring opportunities to add further solar cell and module production in the U.S. as well.