Suniva has completed an $835 million debt and equity capital raise to fund construction of its second major U.S. solar cell manufacturing facility and increase its total domestic manufacturing capacity to 5.5 GW.
The financing includes senior secured credit facilities provided by funds managed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and I Squared Capital, a second-lien credit facility from JBA Asset Management, and equity investments from Electron Capital Partners, Orion Infrastructure Capital and Rubric Capital Management, along with other investors.
Suniva’s largest shareholder and long-term investor, Lion Point Capital, also participated.
The capital will finance a new 4.5 GW high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cell manufacturing facility in Laurens County, South Carolina.
Completion is expected in late 2027, with full production ramp targeted for 2028.
The facility’s 621,468-square-foot building shell is already complete. The fully funded project represents approximately a $600 million investment and is expected to create 564 advanced manufacturing jobs.
Suniva already operates a facility in Norcross, Georgia, providing 1 GW of annual solar cell capacity.
Combining the Georgia plant with the South Carolina expansion would increase the company’s total manufacturing capacity to 5.5 GW.
Suniva said the majority of its planned future production is covered by long-term product offtake agreements with U.S. solar companies.
Roth Capital Partners served as lead private placement agent. Rodman & Renshaw advised Suniva financially, while J.P. Morgan acted as sole structuring agent. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton advised Suniva legally, and Gibson Dunn advised Roth.
Suniva separately entered a definitive reverse merger agreement in June 2026 with a wholly owned subsidiary of SUNation Energy. The combined company is expected to operate under the Suniva name and continue SUNation’s Nasdaq listing if that transaction closes.
KEY QUOTES:
“Suniva is scaling from a position of strength. They’re already producing at commercial scale, have locked in critical domestic supply relationships, and have long-term customer commitments covering their planned output. Combined with a fully funded expansion, that gives us confidence in Suniva’s ability to become an even more important supplier to America’s solar industry as the country works toward domestic supply chain independence.”
Connor Arras, Managing Director, Climate Credit at Goldman Sachs Alternatives
“U.S. energy independence and meeting the needs of increasing energy usage in the United States requires domestic production of U.S. solar cells. As the only U.S.-owned solar cell manufacturer at commercial scale, we believe Suniva is uniquely well positioned in the market. We look forward to helping the United States and the Administration achieve its important goal of U.S. energy independence. With our second state-of-the-art high-efficiency solar cell manufacturing facility, we expect to be able to meet the growing needs for a U.S.-based source. We appreciate the strong partnership with South Carolina and the Laurens County community as we rapidly scale to meet this rising demand and strengthen the domestic U.S. solar supply chain while Suniva continues leading the next era of American solar manufacturing.”
Tony Etnyre, CEO of Suniva
