TOYO has announced plans to establish a 2 GW solar cell manufacturing plant in Ethiopia
It will develop this plant in the Hawassa region for an estimated $60 million investment
It picked Ethiopia for its favorable investment policies, tariff status, and ample hydropower supply with the US users in mind
Soon after announcing plans to produce vertically integrated solar PV production capacity in the US, Japanese PV manufacturer TOYO Solar says it will establish a solar cell manufacturing plant in Africa’s Ethiopia with an annual capacity of 2 GW.
It lists favorable investment policies, tariff status, and ample hydropower supply as the factors that influenced its choice of the country. Ethiopia is a country exempt from tariffs for bifacial solar cells under Section 201 of the US Trade Act of 1974, it points out.
The Ethiopian cell fab will meet the needs of its planned 2 GW module plant in the US (see Japan’s Toyo Solar Announces 2 GW US Module Manufacturing Plant).
“Approximately 90% of Ethiopia's electricity generation comes from hydropower, with wind contributing 8% and thermal sources accounting for the remaining 2%,” said TOYO CEO Junsei Ryu. “The new facility will be able to take advantage of this green power supply to advancing TOYO's goal of reducing the carbon footprint across our supply chain as this issue becomes increasingly important to utility-scale developers in the U.S., Europe, and other markets.”
TOYO has already identified and signed a lease agreement for a 31,500 m2 facility in the Hawassa region that will be modified to meet the needs of a modern, automated cell production. It will be built for an estimated investment of $60 million.
Fitting out the new plant is planned for November 2024, and production is scheduled for Q1 2025. It is expected to create up to 880 jobs, including in manufacturing and engineering.
Ryu added, “Establishing this manufacturing plant is a key step in our strategic vision to diversify our supply chain and enhance our sourcing capabilities for solar solutions in the global market.”
While exporting to the growing US market is an idea that may make more PV manufacturers like TOYO consider Africa as a manufacturing destination, the continent alone has huge untapped PV potential. The Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) estimates Africa’s potential to install 180 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, and 1.2 TW by 2050.
It also launched the Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative (AREMI) in January 2023 saying that solar PV manufacturing in Africa can be cost-competitive with China; however, Ethiopia didn’t feature among the countries identified to have medium, high or immediate feasibility (see Now Time To Explore Renewable Energy Manufacturing In Africa).