Amid uncertainty, Premier Energies halts plans for U.S. solar cell factory

Premier Energies of India put its plans on hold to build a manufacturing facility in the United States as it waits for “the regime in the U.S. to settle down and be clear on what they want to do.”

February 3, 2025 Ryan Kennedy

Heliene, a solar panel provider serving North America, and Premier Energies, a solar cell manufacturer based in India, announced a joint venture to produce solar cells in the United States.

Image: Heliene

Premier Energies, a solar manufacturing business headquartered in India, announced it will halt plans for opening a 1 GW solar cell manufacturing facility in the United States.

Solar cell manufacturing is a critical and under-supplied leg of the solar supply chain that is more capital intensive than the final stage, module assembly, which the United States has large capacities.

The pause comes as the Trump Administration’s wide-reaching executive order to halt federal spending on climate and energy has caused widespread confusion and uncertainty in the industry. It remains unclear what the administration’s plan is for the disbursement of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. Since its passage in 2022, an unprecedented amount of investment in U.S. clean energy manufacturing has been announced.

Premier Energies said it still has the plan, but it is now on hold until clarity returns to the market.

“We are waiting for the regime in the U.S. to settle down and be clear on what they want to do. As of now, we have only heard and read that the IRA has been paused,” said Chiranjeev Saluja, managing director, Premier Energies.

The factory plans were announced in July 2024. Module manufacturer Heliene planned to enter a joint venture with Premier Energies to source 1 GW of N-Type cells for its module assembly operations in the United States.

Heliene currently sources solar cells from Premier’s Hyderabad facility for use in module manufacturing at its Mountain Iron, Minn. location.

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