TOYO Corporation, a solar solutions provider, has acquired Solar Plus Technology Texas, a module manufacturing facility located in Houston, Texas. The operations of the facility will be managed by TOYO Solar, a subsidiary of TOYO, with an initial investment of $19.96 million allocated for Phase 1 construction. This acquisition is aimed at advancing TOYO’s “made-in-America” solar module production initiative, which plans to achieve an initial capacity of 2.5 GW and expand to 6.5 GW by 2029. The newly leased facility, covering an area of 567,140 square feet, is expected to receive equipment by early 2025. Production of the first gigawatt is scheduled to begin by mid-2025, with the facility reaching its 2.5 GW capacity by year-end. Junsei Ryu, Chairman and CEO of TOYO, noted that the U.S. acquisition aligns with the company’s existing facilities in Vietnam and Ethiopia. He emphasised TOYO’s intent to utilize the expertise of its sister company, Vietnam Sunergy, to maintain manufacturing excellence and leverage established customer relationships. The acquisition forms part of TOYO’s larger strategy to strengthen its presence in critical markets and enhance its capabilities as a comprehensive solar solutions provider, encompassing upstream silicon and wafer production to downstream photovoltaic module manufacturing. According to a joint report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie, solar module manufacturing capacity in the U.S. increased by over 10 GW, reaching 31.3 GW in the second quarter of 2024. Additionally, the US increased its tariff-free solar cell import quota in August 2024, raising it from 5 GW to 12.5 GW to support domestic module manufacturers, although the tariff rate remains fixed at 14.25 per cent.