In October, pv magazine USA announced that Meyer Burger Technology AG planned to set up a module manufacturing facility in the U.S., but the location was not yet disclosed. Today, Meyer Burger announced that it is establishing a production site for high-performance solar modules in Goodyear, Arizona.
Initial annual production capacity is expected to be 400 MW by the end of 2022, with the potential to scale to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) capacity in the future. At full 1.5 GW potential capacity, the facility will provide over 500 skilled manufacturing jobs
“Meyer Burger is thrilled to be establishing roots in Arizona and expanding our footprint to the United States,” said CEO Gunter Erfurt. “My sincere thanks to our partners in Arizona for their support throughout this process. Solar energy will be critical to achieving U.S. and global clean energy goals, and our proprietary heterojunction cell technology and patented SmartWire module technology enable us to produce products of the highest quality and performance in order to offer our customers economically competitive solar components.”
Initial production capabilities will enable the company to manufacture solar modules for residential, commercial/industrial rooftop, and utility-scale applications. Production is expected to be operational by the end of 2022. Meyer Burger has entered into a lease as the first tenant of a recently constructed new building at market conditions.
Long known as a manufacturer of PV production equipment, Meyer Burger pivoted in the summer of 2020 to producing machines for heterojunction, smartwire manufacturing exclusively for its own use. At the same time the company announced that it would no longer supply its technology to third parties and discontinued its partnership with REC Group.
“We are thrilled Meyer Burger has chosen Goodyear for their first manufacturing facility in the U.S.,” said Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. “The company’s new solar module manufacturing facility will further enhance Arizona’s standout reputation as a renewable energy leader”
Meyer Burger has begun hiring key personnel to support installation of equipment and initial startup of the facility. The company intends to continue hiring through 2022 in order to train personnel and ramp production quickly.
