SANTA FE, N.M. — Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies plans to build a major solar panel manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, pending approval of a loan application with the U.S. Department of Energy, the company announced Thursday.
The factory would employ about 1,800 people to provide photovoltaic solar panels for use in for residential, commercial and utility-scale solar arrays.
Maxeon
MAXN, -2.32%
said annual panel production would be capable of generating three gigawatts of electricity — more than any existing silicon-solar facility in the U.S. About six gigawatts of solar panels were installed nationwide in the first three months of 2023, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
The proposed solar plant in the southern reaches of Albuquerque would include solar-cell fabrication, panel assembly and warehouse facilities, along with administrative offices.
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Maxeon Solar emerged in 2020 as a spun-off company from the residential solar provider SunPower Corp.
Maxeon CEO Bill Mulligan called the proposed plant “an ambitious and concrete response to the need to decarbonize the U.S. economy while creating permanent highly-skilled local manufacturing and engineering jobs.”
The company said it would invest at least $1 billion in construction.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the plant is an outgrowth of public investments in clean energy infrastructure under the 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and related state programs.
In the nearly two months since New Mexico head coach Eric Olen and staff have been in charge, they’ve rebuilt the Lobos roster by adding 13 names to next season’s team.
With the summer recruiting circuit getting underway, Olen and staff have begun looking at their next targets in the high school class beginning with 2026 names. A rising senior now on New Mexico’s radar is forward Trevon Carter-Givens. Playing for Team WhyNot in front of college coaches during the May viewing period, Carter-Givens averaged eight points and seven rebounds per game while helping his team to a 3-0 record.
Following the weekend, his recruitment continued to expand with offers from Creighton, TCU and New Mexico coming in. This followed offers from Florida State, Seton Hall, UNLV and San Francisco in April.
Carter-Givens played his first two high school seasons at Templeton High School in California’s Central Coast, a school with less than 800 enrolled. He made the move to Southern California Academy prior to his junior season, pairing up with a team that is primarily made up of top recruits. He’s settled into his role as a big man and continues to show off his improvements over the past year.
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Eric Olen’s initial roster at New Mexico is heavy with players plucked from the transfer portal, as has become a normal procedure across the country, even more so in the case of a new head coach left with virtually nothing on the roster. The Lobos have signed three high school recruits for 2025, Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall and Sir Marius Jones. Tenette and Hall were previously signed with play for Olen at UC San Diego while Jones was headed for UC Irvine but is following assistant coach Michael Wilder to Albuquerque.
Eight of New Mexico’s commitments over the past two months have come from the transfer portal with Chris Howell and Milos Vincentic, starting the run of commitments while following Olen and staff over from UC San Diego. New Mexico’s other two commitments have come from different paths. Forward Antonio Chol averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game this past season at Garden City Community College after starting his career at Rutgers. New Mexico’s newest commitment, Tomislav Buljan, comes to the college game after several professional seasons in Europe. The 6-foot-8, 22-year-old Buljan is a native of Croatia and has four seasons of eligibility.
