Puerto Rico to open first solar module factory

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Solar module manufacturer Solx, a new player in the industry, is expected to soon open Puerto Rico’s first module manufacturing factory.</span></p><p><strong>From <a href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/09/22/puerto-rico-readies-for-its-first-solar-module-manufacturing-facility/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">pv magazine USA</a></strong></p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s first solar module manufacturing facility will soon begin operations, where US company Solx will produce an annual 700 MW to 800 MW.</p>
<p>Once operational, Solx will provide turnkey OEM solutions, fully traceable domestic content, and Federal Entity of Concern-compliant solar modules. The facility <a href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/04/03/solx-announces-puerto-ricos-first-solar-module-factory/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">will produce 72-cell n-type modules</a> for the utility-scale market. Solx is partnering with Origami Solar to source steel frames for the modules, which will include a large-format G12 module.</p>
<p>The company said it will begin expansion into the US mainland in 2026, with a goal to reach 10 GW of manufacturing capacity by 2030.</p>
<p>The facility uses the largest laminators in North America, which enables a higher throughput, said Solx. Laminators bond solar module layers together. Its major assembly-line equipment has been installed, calibrated and tested, Solx said, setting the expected commercial operation date by the end of the year. Solx announced the facility <a href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/04/03/solx-announces-puerto-ricos-first-solar-module-factory/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">earlier this year</a> and has a total investment of $64 million.</p>
<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_116671"><a class="fancybox image" href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SPR-Construction_032526-scaled-e1758557128767.jpeg"><img alt="" class=" wp-image-116671" height="391" src="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SPR-Construction_032526-scaled-e1758557128767-600x436.jpeg" tabindex="0" width="538" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><i> Image: Solx </i></figcaption></figure>
<p>Some modules Solx produces will stay in Puerto Rico, but the majority of the modules will supply into the mainland, James Holmes, co-founder and CEO, said when he sat down with <strong>pv magazine USA </strong>at the RE+ trade show this month in Las Vegas, Nevada.</p>
<p>The planned facility is located in a former Hewlett Packard plant in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.</p>
<p>“Puerto Rico is the manufacturing hub,” Holmes said, “That’s what’s neat about Puerto Rico and helps us.”</p>
<p>Holmes said Puerto Rico’s workforce “is unlike anywhere else in the country.”</p>
<p>“We have a very skilled workforce in Puerto Rico with decades of manufacturing experience that we’re tapping into,” he said.</p>
<p>Founded in 2024, Solx is a newer company. And as a purely domestic solar company, Holmes said Solx can operate with low risk.</p>
<p>“Initially, the workforce was the key driver to success,” Holmes said.</p>
<p>Solx expects to employ more than 200 people in permanent positions as the production scales. The facility’s construction created more than 200 direct jobs, according to Solx.</p>
<p>Along with the island’s skilled workforce in manufacturing, Holmes said the location is able to attract top talent by enabling Puerto Ricans to move back with good paying jobs.</p>
<p>So far, Holmes said Solx has brought five Puerto Ricans from the mainland back home to Puerto Rico. “And that feels really good,” he said.</p>
<p>Holmes said Puerto Rico awarded Solx “some meaningful grants.”</p>
<p>One grant covers 10% of the company’s equipment cost, Holmes said, “which is good when you spend a significant amount of money on equipment.”</p>
<p>“Another grant geared toward job creation pays Solx per employee, but you have to keep the employees for five years and they kind of drip out the incentive,” Holmes said. “The governor of Puerto Rico is a Republican, but she’s been a strong supporter of our project. That’s been an interesting dynamic to see a Republican step up and be an advocate for renewables.”</p>
<p>Once these projects advance, Holmes said Solx will have a captive market.</p>
<p>“The grid is in disrepair,” Holmes said. “Because we’re in a sandbox, we’re on an island, we need solar on the island. The load growth and the electrification of everything and the narrative don’t necessarily match how you do it, because it’s not necessarily renewables versus fossils or solar versus wind. Everybody’s kind of in their own camp. We just need more energy, more electrons on the grid very quickly. The science doesn’t care what side of the aisle you sit on. Solar is the fastest, cheapest way to do that.”</p>
<p>However, federal policy changes and ongoing uncertainty remain a challenge. “The entire industry now has a moment to look in the mirror, be self-accountable, and just move forward. This is an industry that has been plagued by uncertainty forever,” he said.</p>
<p>However, Holmes said he doesn’t want to point the finger at Washington for the solar industry’s problems.</p>
<p>“We understand what we need to do, we’re heads down,” he said. “We’re gonna focus on engineering and manufacturing, and hiring the most talented people in the world and keeping them forever. We’re gonna keep our balance sheet clean of foreign interest.”</p>