DENVER, Colo. (247marketnews.com) -- Suniva’s latest financing is turning a long-discussed U.S. solar manufacturing comeback into a much more tangible industrial story. The company announced the completion of an $835 million debt-and-equity capital raise to fund a new 4.5 GW solar-cell manufacturing facility in Laurens County, South Carolina. Combined with its existing 1 GW operation in Norcross, Georgia, Suniva says the expansion will take its total U.S. solar-cell capacity to 5.5 GW.
The numbers are enormous for a domestic solar manufacturer. The South Carolina facility represents an approximately $600 million investment, with the 621,468-square-foot building shell already complete. Suniva expects the plant to come online in late 2027 and reach full production in 2028, while creating approximately 564 advanced-manufacturing jobs. The financing includes senior secured facilities from funds managed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and I Squared Capital, a second-lien facility from JBA Asset Management, and equity investments from Electron Capital Partners, Orion Infrastructure Capital and Rubric Capital Management, among others.
The bigger story is supply-chain control. Suniva says the expansion is supported by an existing domestic supply chain and long-term offtake agreements covering the majority of planned future production. Goldman Sachs Alternatives Managing Director Connor Arras described the company as “scaling from a position of strength,” pointing to commercial-scale production, domestic supply relationships and customer commitments. CEO Tony Etnyre said, “U.S. energy independence and meeting the needs of increasing energy usage in the United States requires domestic production of U.S. solar cells.”
For public-market investors, the key connection is SUNation Energy (NASDAQ:SUNE). Suniva and SUNation entered a definitive reverse-merger agreement in June, under which Suniva would become a wholly owned subsidiary of SUNation. The combined company is expected to operate under the Suniva name while retaining SUNation’s Nasdaq listing. The transaction is currently targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to closing conditions and regulatory requirements. A September 4 amendment to the merger agreement was subsequently filed with the SEC.
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