Suniva, a United States-based monocrystalline silicon solar cells manufacturing company, has announced the restart, upgrade and expansion of operations of its solar cell manufacturing facility in Norcross, Georgia.

The first phase, expected to commence production in early 2014, will increase Suniva’s capacity to 1 GW. A second phase of expansion aims to further raise annual production capacity to 2.5 GW.

In 2023, Suniva obtained a $110 million funding commitment from Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC) to support expansion of the plant in Gwinnett County. Combined with a multi-year wafer supply agreement, the funding will enable Suniva to produce solar cells for various applications, including ground-mounted and rooftop installations.

Cristiano Amoruso, Suniva’s CEO and board member, said, “The Inflation Reduction Act and its Domestic Content provisions provide a strong foundation for continued solar cell technology development and manufacturing in the United States.”

Ethan Shoemaker, Investment Partner and Head of Infra Credit at OIC, added, “We are excited to partner with Suniva, a pioneer in the domestic solar industry.”

Suniva was among the U.S. solar cell and module manufacturing companies which had petitioned the government for relief from cheaper imported solar components.

Several module and cell manufacturers based in the U.S. and elsewhere have announced new module and cell manufacturing facilities and capacity expansions in the U.S. this year.

In September, Silfab Solar, announced expanding its presence in the U.S. by setting up a $150 million facility to produce 1 GW of cells and 1.2 GW of modules annually in York County, Pennsylvania.

In July, Swiss solar panel manufacturer Meyer Burger said it was setting up a 2 GW solar cell factory in Colorado. The company is scheduled to begin production in the fourth quarter of this year.