South Korea-headquartered green energy and chemical company OCI Holdings announced its plans to expand its U.S. solar value chain by building a solar cell manufacturing plant through its U.S. solar subsidiary, Mission Solar Energy.

The company will invest $265 million in the facility and targets commencing commercial production of 1 GW of solar cells in the first half of 2026. It plans to increase the facility’s production capacity to 2 GW in the second half of 2026.

With this project, OCI Holdings aims to set up a solar supply chain utilizing non-China polysilicon from its Malaysian subsidiary OCI TerraSus. The supply chain will be established in combination with solar cells from the company’s new U.S. facility.

The company claims its solar cell manufacturing will benefit from the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. Solar projects incorporating a specific share of U.S.-made components will also be eligible for an additional 10% investment tax credit (ITC).

According to a recent report by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. module manufacturing capacity has surpassed 50 GW. This growth could allow the U.S. to produce enough modules to meet its current demand.

The SEIA said module manufacturing had grown five-fold since federal energy policies like the IRA were passed. It claimed that the U.S. is now the third-largest solar module producer globally.

In December last year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued final regulations for the Section 48 Energy Credit, which typically provides a 30% tax credit for clean energy projects.

Recently, a coalition of 21 Republican lawmakers urged the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means to safeguard clean energy tax credits enacted under the previous administration to protect substantial private sector investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure.