Materials science giant Corning is betting on US solar, buying Chinese-owned JA Solar’s 2 GW factory in Arizona as clean energy tax credit rules tighten.
JA Solar’s Phoenix-based solar panel factory will now operate under American Panel Solutions, a new subsidiary that Corning owns. A company spokesperson confirmed the acquisition to PV Tech.
“Corning is excited to leverage our advanced manufacturing expertise and expand our solar capabilities in Phoenix with American Panel Solutions,” said AB Ghosh, VP and general manager of solar at Corning, who also serves as chairman and CEO at Hemlock Semiconductor.
In 2023, China’s JA Solar, the world’s fourth-largest solar panel maker by capacity, announced it would open its first factory in the US. The Beijing-headquartered company invested $60 million and leased space in Phoenix to manufacture photovoltaic products. It was a big win for the Biden administration, which created a domestic clean energy manufacturing growth boom.
However, thanks to the big bill that the Republican-majority Congress recently passed, new rules around “foreign entities of concern” (FEOCs) will make things trickier for solar companies that want to tap into federal tax breaks. If more than 60% of a project’s materials come from China, it will lose access to key tax incentives like the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC). The thresholds for how much FEOC-linked content is allowed will decrease by 5% yearly until it reaches an allowed 40% FEOC-made by 2030.
Wood Mackenzie research analyst Elissa Pierce pointed out that ultimately, this new rule threatens to create more problems for the US solar industry than it solves:
The solar industry’s supply chain shuffle reveals a fundamental paradox.
Despite billions in tariffs and years of diversification efforts, Chinese companies still control manufacturing through regional subsidiaries.
When Malaysian glass suppliers and Vietnamese frame manufacturers are Chinese-owned operations, we’re not achieving energy security. We’re simply paying higher prices for the same supply chain risk.
These new market distortions could ultimately harm renewable energy deployment while potentially precluding domestic manufacturers from receiving the 45X tax credits due to the FEOC restrictions.
JA Solar is the second Chinese solar company to sell its US factory since the US presidential election. Changzhou-headquartered Trina Solar sold its Texas solar panel factory to T1 Energy (previously FREYR Energy) in December. The acquisition was announced on November 6, the same day Kamala Harris conceded the US election to Donald Trump – just a week after Trina opened the factory.
Read more: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens [update]
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