Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer JA Solar announced via the Arizona Commerce Authority that it intends to open a 2-GW solar panel assembly plant in Phoenix by the fourth quarter of 2023. The company will invest $60 million into a new manufacturing site and create 600 jobs.
JA Solar modules on display at RE+: 590-W module (left) using 182-mm wafer (M10) for the utility-scale market. 425-W module (right) for the DG market.
The site will produce solar panels for all markets — residential, commercial and utility-scale.
“We are very excited to be able to set up the first U.S. solar module manufacturing facility in Arizona to provide our customers in the U.S. the flexibility and ease of access to JA Solar’s high-performance PV products,” said Aiqing Yang, President of JA Solar. “JA Solar thanks all the partners in Arizona, especially the ACA, GPEC, and the City of Phoenix for their great support and tremendous assistance during the entire process of site selection and space leasing in preparation to establish the manufacturing facility. Solar is a critical part of renewable energy and we are thrilled to be a part of the effort to meet the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 in the U.S.”
JA Solar was founded in 2005 and is one of the world’s largest solar panel manufacturers. The company makes half-cell solar panel designs in both mono- and bifacial setups and has been working with M10 wafers.
JA Solar’s Phoenix factory will join Meyer Burger’s under-construction factory in Goodyear, bringing Arizona’s total silicon solar panel manufacturing capacity to 3.5 GW.