California-based solar module maker SEG Solar announced the acquisition of a manufacturing facility in Texas with the capacity to produce over 2 GW of solar modules.

The company said the facility would have three state-of-the-art production lines allowing SEG to produce both TOPCON (tunnel oxide passivated contact) and high-efficiency n-type photovoltaic (PV) modules with 182 mm or 210 mm solar cells.

SEG plans to procure some components required in the module production from local suppliers. The production at the Texas module facility is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

The new facility comprises approximately 145,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse area and 16,000 square feet of office space.

SEG’s Vice President Michael Eden said, “We are excited to establish a manufacturing base in Texas and look forward to serving the U.S. market with more domestic production. This facility will help to sustain low-carbon, eco-centric energy independence in the US for future generations.”

SEG’s aggregate total investment in the facility is expected to reach over $60 million, including equipment and facility improvements.

The module maker said it would begin moving its global headquarters and administrative support functions to the facility before the end of 2023. The plant is expected to create as many as 500 new jobs in Houston, Texas.

The new facility is also said to support domestic module manufacturing at a time when utility-scale solar installations dropped by 31% to 11.8 GW in 2022.

Solar equipment makers in the U.S. have been facing difficulties procuring components owing to the anti-circumvention probe and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Withhold Release Order for the detainment of solar equipment.

The U.S. installed 20.2 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity in 2022, down 16% from 2021, taking the total installed solar capacity to date to 142.3 GW.

The sanctions imposed by the U.S. administration on solar imports also led to a surge in Indian solar module exports in 2022 to the U.S. India’s solar module exports increased by 321% year-over-year last year, totaling $561.6 million. It was primarily driven by demand from the United States, which accounted for over 95% of the shipments.