New Mexico
Near $1 billion solar cell factory announced in New Mexico
Ebon Solar will invest $942 million in a solar cell manufacturing facility, bringing over 900 jobs.
Ebon Solar, a Delaware-based solar cell manufacturing company, released a joint announcement with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham that it will open a manufacturing facility in the Southwest.
New Mexico, which has become a center for advanced manufacturing particularly for silicon computer chips, will now become home to an Ebon Solar facility spanning 834,000 square feet.
Over $942 million will be invested to create the facility, which is expected to generate 900 full-time jobs. The project is developed in Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol industrial development area.
The Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) served as a key project management partner throughout Ebon Solar’s market evaluation process, facilitating many visits, interviews, and data analysis of the region and site selection support.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ebon Solar to the market; it not only represents a significant capital investment and new jobs to the community but aligns with PNM’s sustainability goals,” said Don Tarry, president and chief executive officer of electric utility PNM and the 2024 AREA Board Chair.
The Ebon Solar factory addresses a critical early upstream stage of the solar panel supply chain. Solar panels are made in a process from raw polysilicon mining, to refining into ingots, cutting into wafers, manufactured into cells, and finally assembled as modules.
While module assembly plants are opening in droves in the United States, with total cumulative capacity growing 71% nationwide in Q1 2024 alone, the need for earlier stages of the chain to be addressed becomes clear. However, cell manufacturing and other early-stage manufacturing processes are quite expensive to build and operate, as evidenced by Ebon Solar’s nearly $1 billion price tag.
(Read: “Can the U.S. fill its domestic solar supply chain gaps?”)
“Ebon Solar is proud to be an innovator in technologies that support renewable energy,” said Judy Cai, chief executive officer, Ebon Solar. “The choice of Albuquerque for our investment aligns with our commitment to sustainable innovation, and New Mexico offers abundant solar resources, favorable renewable energy policies, and a dedicated, skilled workforce.”
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