Silfab Solar has raised $110 million by leveraging tax credits to expand its manufacturing capacity
This will create incremental investment funds for the company to strengthen its US manufacturing base
Transferability works for solar manufacturers like Silfab Solar, but its fate is uncertain under the new legislation proposed
North American solar PV manufacturer Silfab Solar has sold up to $110 million of Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits as it raises funds to focus on its expansion plans in the US.
Silfab says the sale of these credits generates ‘incremental investment funds’ for it to expand US production capacity to cater to commercial, utility, and residential applications.
The manufacturer is already operating a state-of-the-art cell manufacturing and module assembly facility in South Carolina with an initial capacity of 1 GW of solar cells and 1.3 GW of modules. This is over and above its existing 1.1 GW module facility in Burlington, Washington.
“The 45X production incentive remains a formidable and necessary tool to bring manufacturing into the United States,” said Silfab Solar’s CEO and President, Paolo Maccario.
Under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), manufacturers of clean energy equipment can transfer their tax credits to 3rd parties for immediate payment. Silfab Solar also sold its AMPTC in May 2024 to raise funds from Schneider Electric (see Silfab Solar Secures Advanced Production Tax Credits Deal).
However, manufacturers will need to look for alternatives to this option going forward, as the US House Committee on Ways and Means has proposed to repeal the transferability mechanism under Section 45X (see US Legislation Proposes Earlier Phase Out Of Clean Energy Tax Credits).