As the US administration plans to boost the local solar PV integrated value chain, Qcells parent Hanwha Solutions Corporation has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Canadian Premium Sand (CPS) to secure patterned solar glass from the Canadian manufacturer.
CPS plans to fulfill this commitment from its glass manufacturing facility currently under development in Selkirk in Canada's Manitoba province that's being advanced to a shovel-ready status, as the management undertakes negotiations to 'convert other existing expressions of interest to commercial offtake agreements'.
It previously said phase I will involve multiple production lines for 550 tons to 600 tons per day (TPD) of patterned solar glass manufacturing with thickness ranging between 4.0 mm and 1.8 mm and application of anti-reflective and anti-soiling coatings. This will be enough to cater up to 4 GW of annual solar panel manufacturing.
The Canadian company identified this as the location for its manufacturing project back in December 2021 to produce high specification patterned solar glass to be predominantly used for the production of solar panels in North America (see It's Selkirk For Canadian Premium Sand (CPS)).
"Hanwha's North American solar glass demand requirements of over 3 GW of module manufacturing represents over 80% of our planned phase 1 production capacity," said CPS President Glenn Leroux.
Qcells is operating its 1.7 GW solar PV manufacturing capacity in Georgia, US and will be expanding with another 1.4 GW module fab in the southern state (see Qcells Picks Georgia For 1.4 GW US Module Fab). It will represent close to 35% of current North American solar module production, added CPS in a statement.
"As Qcells expands its manufacturing footprint in North America, we see tremendous value in securing supply from a trusted partner that is proximal to our operations," added Hanwha. "Additionally, the integrated nature of CPS' operation with its wholly-owned sand resource and the use of renewable hydro-electricity in its manufacturing process offer excellent alignment with our low-carbon objectives."
In order to secure a stable supply of locally produced raw materials, Hanwha recently acquired stake in Norway's REC Silicon that has a polysilicon manufacturing facility in the US (see Hanwha Invests in US Silicon Production).
REC too has roped in British silicon metal and alloys producer Ferroglobe PLC to supply it silicon metal raw material for the US based Moses Lake fab. This collaboration aims to create a low-carbon and fully traceable US based solar supply chain (see MoU For Silicon Raw Material Supply In US).