Canadian Solar says building 5-GW wafer factory in Thailand

Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) is building a 5-GW solar photovoltaic (PV) wafer production plant in Chonburi, Thailand, the company announced today, 10 days after it unveiled an investment of a similar scale in the US state of Indiana.

The solar panels manufacturer said that the new Asian factory should begin operations in March 2024. Initially, it will supply N-type wafers to the existing Thailand TOPCon cell manufacturing plant on the same site.

Once the planned cell factory in Indiana starts production too, the Thai facility will redirect its output there. This is expected to happen from 2025 onwards.

"Establishing this solar wafer factory in Thailand is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our US customers with a more diversified and resilient supply chain, complementing our recently announced investments in the US in solar cell and solar module manufacturing. Importantly, it will also allow us to responsibly meet the new requirements related to the latest and adjusted AD/CVD ruling by the US Department of Commerce,” said Thomas Koerner, Senior Vice President of Canadian Solar.

As announced in June, the company is also building a 5-GW solar panel factory in Mesquite, Texas.

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