Canadian Solar ramps HJT solar cell manufacturing in Indiana

Canadian Solar has opened the first phase of a new solar cell factory in Jeffersonville, Indiana, making it the first company to produce heterojunction technology (HJT) solar cells in the United States. HJT is a solar cell design known for higher efficiency. The cells made here will ship to the company's panel assembly plant in Mesquite, Texas, where they'll be built into finished solar panels.

This first phase can produce 2.1 gigawatts of cells a year, and the company expects to reach more than 6 gigawatts annually once it's fully built out, with work on a second expansion phase starting later this year. The project is tied to roughly $1 billion in local investment and more than 1,200 jobs in Indiana. Canadian Solar is also expanding its Texas panel factory to 10 gigawatts of annual capacity.

For homeowners, this matters mainly as a sign that more solar panels sold in the U.S. may soon include cells actually made domestically, rather than just assembled here from imported parts. Right now, other U.S. cell makers use different cell technologies, and any HJT panels currently sold as "made in the USA" rely on cells produced overseas. If domestic content becomes important to your rebate eligibility or purchase decision, it may be worth asking installers where a panel's cells, not just its assembly, come from as more of these panels reach the market.