Silfab Secures $100 Million to Manufacture Solar Cells in U.S.

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 22, Half of the funding is coming from a $50 million equity investment and the other half from a green loan, which will enable Silfab to scale its solar cell manufacturing plant in South Carolina.

Silfab Solar Inc. has closed on $100 million of new financing to scale its state-of-the-art solar cell manufacturing plant in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Silfab, a Canadian-headquartered company, announced its intention to produce 1 GW of cells and to add 1.3 GW of module capacity at the facility, which the company said will begin operations by the end of this year.

Half of the funding is coming from a $50 million equity investment that was led by funds advised by ARC Financial Corp. (ARC) and includes investment from existing co-investors. The company raised an additional $50 million senior secured financing or a “green loan” led by Breakwall Capital, an energy-focused asset manager and employee-owned firm.

Silfab reports that Sustainable Fitch provided a second-party opinion on the green loan and considers the transaction to be structured in line with the Loan Market Association, Loan Syndications and Trading Association and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association Green Loan Principles. Sustainable Fitch’s view is that the Green Loan’s alignment with these principles is “Excellent.”

“American-made clean energy is and will remain in huge demand. We are thankful for the continued support of both existing and new investors in our mission to lead the reshoring of the PV supply chain – ensuring a sustainable supply of US-made PV modules,” said Paolo Maccario, Silfab president and CEO. “Silfab’s growing US footprint and increase in domestic content means more jobs for Americans and a lower carbon footprint compared to imported panels.”