Heliene inks 2 GW U.S.-made solar panel supply deal

North American solar module manufacturer Heliene announced it has secured a 2 GW long-term module supply deal with Excelsior Energy Capital, a renewable energy infrastructure developer.

Multiple-millions of solar modules supplied in the deal will primarily be assembled at a Heliene factory in Mountain Iron, Minnesota.

Excelsior said that the new agreement “materially derisks supply of PV modules” of their projects. By procuring solar modules from a North American supplier, Excelsior can avoid the risks inherent with purchasing equipment that travels a 6,000 mile-plus global supply chain. Trade and tariff risks including enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA), and the threat of new emergent antidumping tariffs, coupled with the tax credit adder, are leading equipment procurers to consider North American supplier alternatives.

Heliene produces solar modules in Ontario, Canada, as well as Minnesota and Florida.

“Heliene is proud to formalize our supply arrangement with Excelsior as we continue building on a period of tremendous growth, both for our company and for the domestic solar industry as a whole,” said Martin Pochtaruk, chief executive officer at Heliene.

The 2 GW deal with Excelsior builds on a large purchase order from Boston-based community solar provider Nexamp, which signed a deal in August 2023 for 1.5 GW of modules. At the time, the transaction marked the single largest procurement deal for the community solar sector in U.S. history.

Heliene also announced expansions to its Minnesota facility in December 2023, adding 150 MW of capacity to the site. It has two manufacturing lines producing a combined annual 800 MW of solar modules. The upgrades also enable the company to produce TOPCon solar modules, which has rapidly emerged as a leading cell type in the global solar market. The company runs a 300 MW manufacturing line in Ontario and a 100 MW line in Riveria Beach, Florida.

Heliene produces modules for the residential, commercial and industrial, and utility-scale sectors. Its range of products include all-black modules for residential rooftops, and both monofacial and bifacial modules for the C&I and utility-scale markets. Heliene’s modules come with a 25-year linear performance guarantee and 15 to 25-year product warranties.