Heliene has closed a deal to purchase US-made solar wafers from NorSun, sourced from its upcoming 5 GW plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
NorSun, a Norway-based solar wafer manufacturer, has signed a multi-year contract with Heliene, a solar panel maker. The exact number of wafers is not specified, but Heliene reports that the supply will meet the annual demand for silicon wafers from 2026.
Heliene has been manufacturing solar panels in Ontario, Canada since 2010, and in Mountain Iron, Minnesota since 2018. Last year, the company announced an investment of an additional $10 million to expand the production and assembly line at its Minnesota plant.
Minnesota Line One was first installed in 2018 with a capacity of 150 MW and has now doubled in capacity to 300 MW thanks to the recent investment. Line One is connected to a second line of 500 MW that will be installed in 2022. The company reports that the upgrades will improve the efficiency of the line.
The NorSun wafers will be supplied from the company’s planned 5 GW wafer facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In June NorSun has announced plans to invest $620 million in the new silicon ingot and solar wafer manufacturing facility on a 60-acre greenfield site in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Production at the new NorSun factory is expected to begin in 2026, bringing much-needed U.S.-made silicon ingots and wafers into the supply chain, as well as 320 jobs in the Tulsa region. NorSun reports that production can be expanded to 10 GW.
Heliene will receive the wafer at the cell factory located in Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota metro area.
“NorSun and Heliene are both committed to developing low-carbon, domestically produced solutions based on sustainable value chains without forced labor,” said Erik Løkke-Øwre, CEO of NorSun. “In the months leading up to final decisions in late 2024, it is now important that further policy action is taken to regulate the US market to ensure the IRA program can take full effect”
Founded in Norway in 2007, Norsun specializes in the production of monocrystalline blocks and wafers for ultra-high efficiency solar cells. The American expansion was made possible by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
