en.Wedoany.com Reported - T1 Energy is rapidly expanding its solar manufacturing footprint in the United States, becoming a key player in the country's photovoltaic manufacturing ecosystem. Its 5.0 GW module assembly plant (codenamed G1) in Wilmer, Texas, has reached full production, with peak daily output exceeding rated capacity by the end of 2025. For the full year 2025, the plant produced 2.79 GW of modules. The company expects module production in 2026 to be between 3.1 and 4.2 GW, depending on market demand and the availability of suitable solar cells.
The module plant achieved a utilization rate of over 90% in less than a year. T1 Energy CEO Daniel Barcelo attributed this to a combination of the operations team and the product itself, as well as record sales and deliveries driven by new customers interested in high-efficiency, low-cost U.S.-made modules.
The expansion upstream into cell manufacturing is also progressing. The company is employing a two-phase construction strategy in Rockdale, with the first phase building a 2.1 GW TOPCon cell factory. The biggest challenge during construction was unusually heavy spring rainfall, with local precipitation in April reaching more than three times the average. However, after adjustments by the construction and operations teams, the project remains on schedule, with cell production expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.
To provide modules with high domestic content, T1 Energy is building its own G2 solar cell factory and has already signed agreements to use domestically produced steel frames. For components where challenges remain, such as glass, PVA, and junction boxes, the company is in discussions with potential suppliers and is advancing related contracts to support new factory construction. In the polysilicon and wafer segments, T1 Energy has established long-term strategic partnerships with U.S. suppliers like Corning and Hemlock Semiconductor, believing that full vertical integration within a single facility is unnecessary; the key is keeping the supply chain within the United States.
Speaking about his personal experience, Daniel Barcelo noted that after nearly 20 years in the oil and gas industry, entering the solar sector did not feel unfamiliar. He views solar energy as the lowest-cost, most scalable, and fastest-to-deploy form of energy, contributing to energy independence and artificial intelligence leadership. He emphasized that solar energy is not in conflict with other energy forms, and that more domestic solar manufacturing will free up oil and gas for export, as solar is fundamentally a zero-marginal-cost method of power generation.
On September 22-23, 2026, Austin, Texas, will host the inaugural "Solar Manufacturing USA 2026" conference, focusing on the full value chain of domestic manufacturing from polysilicon to modules, material supply chains, and production equipment technology. Organized by the pv magazine USA team in collaboration with Finlay Colville, the event aims to be the most important conference for the U.S. solar industry in 2026.
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