Meyer Burger’s Arizona Module Factory Starts Production

• Meyer Burger has started production at its US solar module plant in Arizona
• It has secured a 600 MW US module supply contract from an unidentified US company
• Another US firm has signed a term sheet for potential investment in the company

European heterojunction (HJT) solar cell and module manufacturer Meyer Burger Technology AG has announced the start of production at its new solar module plant in Goodyear, Arizona in the US.

As announced previously, it plans to use solar cells produced by the company's Thalheim, Germany site to ensure ramp-up of the Goodyear factory, until its US solar cell factory in Colorado Springs, Colorado is online.

Notably, the manufacturer closed down its Freiberg, Germany located solar module factory to concentrate on the US module factory after the German government did not commit to financial support for local PV manufacturers in its Solar Package I (see Meyer Burger Finally Closing Down Freiberg Module Facility).

The commissioning of its planned US solar cell factory depends on the closing of 45X financing under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the company has announced. Its currently awaiting decision on its final loan application for the US cell plant from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

It is also seeking export financing from a major German bank for the US solar production expansion.

Additionally, Meyer Burger has announced signing a commercial agreement and a term sheet for potential investment in the company with an unidentified US industry and technology leader. It will enable the company to produce a solar module that is manufactured in the US with an increasing share of domestic components. Binding agreements are expected to be finalized in Q3/2024, it said.

The manufacturer says it has secured a 3-year offtake agreement for 600 MW US module supply with a major US energy company. The supply is promised to start from January 2026. The customer can extend it by 2 additional years once the financing for the US cell plant is complete.

In a separate announcement, Meyer Burger said the company's Annual General Meeting concluded with the participants agreeing to a 750:1 reverse stock split.

"The reduction in the number of shares by a factor of 750, together with a corresponding increase in the par value of each share by a factor of 750, from the current CHF 0.01 to CHF 7.50, is intended to make the Company's shares more attractive to a broader group of investors, as the current market price of the shares may affect the shares' acceptability to certain institutional investors, professional investors and other members of the investing public," it explained.