Thursday, May 9, 2024

Chinese company to invest in US $198M solar panel factory in Durango

Solarever Group has announced another multi-million-dollar investment in Durango, as it seeks to expand renewable energy and electromobility manufacturing in the country.

With an investment of 3.4 billion pesos (US $197.9 million), the solar panel manufacturing company recently announced its plans to build a factory for solar cells and panels, in addition to the assembly plant for electric vehicles announced earlier this month, also in the northern state.

The plant will start with solar cell and panel production, and later expand to storage battery development. (solarever.com.mx)

According to the president of Grupo Solarever Simon Zhao, the company’s markets can benefit from current business conditions in Mexico, namely its strong manufacturing industry and ample investment opportunities.

“This investment marks an important day for Durango, for Mexico, and for the world, as we fulfill our mission of shifting from traditional energy sources to more sustainable ones,” Zhao said.  

The 1.2-gigawatt (GW) solar cell and panel factory will be the company’s fourth solar panel manufacturing plant in Mexico and the largest on the North American continent, according to Forbes México. 

Covering 13.6 hectares in Durango’s Parque Industrial CLID, the Solarever solar panel plant will generate 600 jobs, and will be developed in stages — it will start with solar cell and panel production, and later expand to storage battery development. 

Chinese manufacturer Solarever has announced it will also build its new E-WAN EV in Durango starting in 2025. (Esteban Villegas Villarreal/Facebook)

With this plant, Solarever will manufacture over 160 million cells and one million photovoltaic modules each year for export to the United States, Colombia and Canada. Production will include PERC and TopCon-type cells.

Speaking at the Technological Institute of Durango, Zhao said that Solarever’s mission is “to replace traditional energy with clean, renewable, intelligent and dignified energy for everyone,” with products that are “highly competitive and innovative, but also accessible.”

Carlos Gutiérrez, the company’s manufacturing director, explained that Solarever plans to integrate their supply chain as this plant will distribute products across Mexico, from Baja California to Quintana Roo.

Solarever’s EV assembly plant announced earlier this month will require an initial investment of 6.8 billion pesos (US $395.7 million) and is expected to start operations in 2025. Together with the new solar panel factory, Solarever’s investment in Durango will amount to 10.2 billion pesos (US $582.5 million). 

Founded in 2012, Solarever is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of solar panels with markets in Mexico, Canada, the United States and Latin America.

With reports from Forbes México, Mexico Industry and T21

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