At least three panel companies have announced manufacturing plans in the U.S. in recent months. China’s JinkoSolar Holding Co. is opening a factory in Jacksonville, Fla. SunPower Corp. has agreed to acquire struggling panel maker SolarWorld Americas Inc. First Solar Inc. plans to open a new factory in Ohio, where it already has some panel-making operations.
. . . Tom Werner, chief executive of SunPower, said tariffs were the primary catalyst for his company’s acquisition of SolarWorld Americas, one of the manufacturers that petitioned the Trump administration for trade protection.
The purchase will allow SunPower to revive SolarWorld’s manufacturing operations in Oregon, where the company will produce panels along with panel and cell facilities it already has in Mexico, Malaysia and the Philippines.
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