SunPower has completed the acquisition of SolarWorld Americas, including its manufacturing facilities and 200-person workforce in Hillsboro, Ore. The price of the acquisition was undisclosed.
SunPower has already began upgrading the facility, with plans to make it fully equipped with the manufacturing technology for its high-efficiency P-Series solar panel. Hillsboro employees will continue to produce SolarWorld Americas product for several months before transitioning to SunPower P-Series products. SunPower product shipments from the new facility are expected to begin by the first quarter of next year.
“This acquisition is an important step in helping to reshape solar manufacturing in America," says Tom Werner, SunPower CEO and chairman. "With a dedicated and experienced Hillsboro workforce and our advanced P-Series solar panel manufacturing technology, invented and perfected in Silicon Valley, we'll be able to sell high-performance American-assembled panels to serve our strong U.S. market demand."
According to Solar Power World, SunPower is headquartered in Silicon Valley, but currently manufactures product in the Philippines and Mexico. Earlier this year, the interdigitated back contact solar cells and modules that the company makes were exempted from a 30 percent tariff on solar panels from the Trump Administration.
“SunPower can now fully focus our resources to deliver the best solar solutions to our customers, develop the next wave of solar technology through American research and development and invest in American solar manufacturing,” Werner says in a statement responding to the exemption. “This will support U.S. solar technology leadership and preserve American jobs. To this end, we are continuing with our planned acquisition of the SolarWorld Americas manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, and expect the transaction to close before the end of the quarter.”
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