Canada-based solar module manufacturer Silfab Solar has completed the second investment round of $125 million led by ARC Financial Corp, an energy-focused private equity fund manager.

The capital infusion will allow Silfab to embark on its next phase of expansion, which includes establishing a third manufacturing facility in the United States. With this new facility, Silfab will be able to expand its operations to include the production of solar cells and modules, all made in America.

The investment from ARC’s Energy Fund 9 includes co-investments from several prominent investors, including Manulife Financial Corporation, Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan, CF Private Equity, and BDC Capital’s Cleantech Practice.

“Silfab is ideally situated to meet North America’s growing appetite for domestically manufactured cutting-edge solar products. ARC remains confident that Silfab will drive clean tech manufacturing and U.S.-engineered product innovation. Silfab continues to implement an impressive growth plan built around its unwavering commitment to manufacturing high-quality products and decades of innovation and experience,” said Brian Boulanger, CEO of ARC.

Silfab Solar’s upcoming third solar manufacturing facility in the United States is expected to be fully operational by 2024. The facility will initially have an annual capacity of producing 1 GW of solar cells and an additional 1.2 GW of solar module assembly.

According to Silfab, investing in U.S.-made solar cells is a critical component in a clean supply chain to support the manufacturing of solar panels for North American customers. The new facility is expected to generate more than 800 new domestic jobs.

Silfab Solar operates two solar module manufacturing facilities, one in Washington in the U.S. and the other in Toronto, Canada.

In September 2021, ARC Financial Corp led Silfab Solar’s first investment round, which enabled the company to enhance its production lines at its existing manufacturing facility in Washington. These enhancements allowed Silfab to deploy next-generation solar modules to North America’s consumer, business, and institutional markets.

Since the launch of its private equity business in 1997, ARC has raised $6 billion across nine energy-focused funds, having invested capital in more than 180 companies across the energy landscape.

Total corporate funding worldwide in the solar sector, including venture capital and private equity (VC), debt financing, and public market financing, came to $24.1 billion in 2022, a decline of 13% compared to the $27.8 billion raised in 2021, according to Mercom’s Annual and Q4 2022 Solar Funding and M&A Report. The total deal count, however, was up by over 20% year-over-year.