Canada based solar PV module manufacturer Ubiquity Solar Inc. will be setting up a manufacturing facility in the US to produce 350 MW of 'utility grade' PV cells for the power generation market, and 1.5 MW of advanced space grade PV cells for aerospace customers.
This capacity is part of the company's plans under phase-I that's due to come up on a former IBM Huron Campus in Endicott village, Broome County in New York. The manufacturer expects to invest $61 million to repurpose 800,000 sq. ft. of vacant space onsite and have it up and running by the end of 2022.
Ubiquity has promised to have close to 100% North American content in its products and operations using its proprietary modular polysilicon and vertically integrated PV process. Previously known as MacLellan Management Ltd., Ubiquity Solar acquired the assets of Hanergy's gallium arsenide (GaAs) thin film solar cell maker Alta Devices in March 2021. These assets included intellectual property, research and development, production equipment and inventory.
Back then Ubiquity had stated that with Alta Devices' assets in the US, it will be able to work on its plans to integrate the GaAs assets with its silicon-based photovoltaic wafer, cell and modulation operation, and move beyond the high efficiency residential, commercial and utility scale PV markets that it caters to.
"This transaction will allow Ubiquity to enter the flight-based GaAs-PV markets for applications such as low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft for delivering 5G over wide areas and drones," Ubiquity CEO and President Ian MacLellan had said regarding Alta Devices transaction. "Long-term, based on research going back over a decade with university research partners, Ubiquity is investigating SiGaAs multi-junction PV technology for the above markets and the emerging electric vehicle integrated PV (VIPV) market."
Ubiquity Solar's silicon division is located in Canada.
For its US fab, basis actual job creation Ubiquity Solar can expect up to $3 million from the Empire State Development through the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program.