A contract solar panel assembly facility will soon open in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, that will supply the utility-scale market on the island and hopefully the greater market on the U.S. mainland.
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Credit: U.S. Corps of Engineers
Solx intends to open its 1.2-GW panel production facility in April 2025 at a former Hewlett Packard inkjet printer manufacturing base. The site should support 250 new jobs, said CEO James Holmes.
“There aren’t that many facilities that are really purpose-built on the island. Many of our [solar panel manufacturing] peers are building greenfield projects with new buildings and there’s a lot of risk,” he said. “We found a building that is move-in ready, and we’re committed to the community of Aguadilla for, say, 20 years, and that feels really good for us.”
Solx has signed a 10-year lease with potential extensions on the 150,000-ft2 building on HP’s 65-acre campus. The company is investing $20 million into the facility to get it ready for panel manufacturing.
Siting a panel manufacturer in Puerto Rico was always the goal for Solx. Holmes, who previously led Sunnova’s non-residential business and experienced the company’s increased solar efforts in Puerto Rico, joined the Solx team to bring realistic solar expertise to the founders’ lofty goals.
The company announced last year it would site a 6-GW panel factory on the island. Now with a building leased, the company has pivoted to a more attainable goal of supplying utility-scale projects on the island with locally assembled panels.
“Our primary focus is the utility market, but we can reconfigure our assembly lines to manufacture residential modules as well,” Holmes said. “1.2 GW is the right size to service the Puerto Rican market and as a gateway to the larger U.S. region.”
Holmes said there will not be Solx-branded panels on the market. Solx will operate as an OEM, making panels for Tier 1 companies with supply chain traceability.
Puerto Rican companies do not pay federal income taxes, but Holmes said Solx will be eligible for the tax credits offered in the Inflation Reduction Act, like the 45X domestic manufacturing credit. Working with a Puerto Rican company comes with other cost advantages, such as solar panel buyers on the island not having to pay Jones Act-related fees. The Jones Act requires all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-made ships and crewed by Americans. Puerto Rican solar projects would benefit from buying Solx-made panels and not having to pay extra shipping fees to use other domestic panels from the mainland.
“We’re really well-positioned in Puerto Rico to be a dominant supplier, from a price perspective in that market,” Holmes said.
A lot of attention is paid to Puerto Rico’s residential solar and storage market, but large-scale projects have recently seen a boost of their own. The Dept. of Energy’s Loan Programs Office is financing $861 million of a 200-MW solar and 1,140-MWh storage portfolio in the southeast portion of the island. That’s only one project of many that Holmes said Solx is ready to supply. And Solx will do it with a local workforce at a competitive price.
“We’re building 250+ jobs in Aguadilla, and domestic capability,” Holmes said. “Puerto Rico has a highly skilled and developed labor market, built on the back of the pharmaceutical and defense industry. We’re going to tap into that. I believe we will operate this facility at the same capacity factor as our peers in China. We’re going to prove that.”
Francisco Berrios Portela, Puerto Rico’s chief of energy, agrees that Puerto Rico is becoming a dominant force in the solar industry.
“Renewable energy in Puerto Rico is advancing rapidly across multiple fronts. In recent years, the rooftop solar market has seen impressive growth, with an average of over 3,000 installations per month. Additionally, a robust pipeline is already in place to develop approximately 1,000 MW of utility-scale renewable energy projects,” he said. “The island’s rapid adoption of renewable energy, coupled with its growing technical expertise, logistical advantages, and favorable incentive structures, is fostering substantial opportunities. A main example of this momentum is the recent announcement of the Solx solar panel manufacturing plant, which will serve the island’s expanding local market and position Puerto Rico as a key hub for exporting U.S.-manufactured solar panels.”
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