SEG Solar starts commercial-scale HJT solar panel production in Houston

A solar panel maker called SEG Solar has started producing solar panels at a new factory in Tomball, near Houston, using a technology called heterojunction (HJT), which combines two types of solar cell materials to get more electricity from the same size panel. The factory, which can make 4 gigawatts of panels a year, opened last month, and the first panels have now come off the line for sale in the U.S. market.

SEG plans to keep growing its U.S. manufacturing. It has already begun building a second Texas factory, expected to start running in 2027, that would add another 4.6 gigawatts of yearly capacity. Combined, the two plants would give the company more than 10.6 gigawatts of U.S. panel-making capacity. The company also has plans for a domestic facility to make the solar cells themselves, targeted for 2028, which would let it produce panels using components made entirely in the U.S.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything right away, but it's a sign that more solar panels sold in the U.S. may soon be made domestically rather than imported. That can matter if you're comparing panels for a solar installation, since some rebates and tax credits favor equipment made in the U.S. If you're weighing a solar project, it's worth asking an installer where the panels they offer are manufactured and whether that affects any incentives you might qualify for.