Solar module manufacturer Canadian Solar announced it is setting up a 5 GW solar photovoltaic wafer production facility in Thailand.

Headquartered in Ontario, Canada, the company is building a solar photovoltaic N-type wafer manufacturing plant in Thailand, slated to begin production in March 2024.

While the wafers produced here will initially be used at the existing Thailand TOPCon cell manufacturing plant, they will gradually be used as inputs to the Indiana cell factory. This depends on their newly announced 5 GW U.S. cell factory in Indiana’s Jeffersonville becoming fully operational.

In October 2023, the company announced an investment of $800 million in the Indiana cell production facility in the U.S., where production is expected to begin by the end of 2025.

“Establishing this solar wafer factory in Thailand is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our U.S. customers with a more diversified and resilient supply chain, complementing our recently announced investments in the U.S. in solar cell and solar module manufacturing. Importantly, it will also allow us to responsibly meet the new requirements related to the latest and adjusted AD/CVD ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce,” said Thomas Koerner, Senior Vice President of Canadian Solar.

Founded in 2001, Canadian Solar has produced over 102 GW of solar modules for global customers for 22 years now. The company is among the leading manufacturers of solar photovoltaic modules, a provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and a developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects.

The company has approximately 700 MW of solar projects in operation, 8 GW of projects under construction or backlog, and 17 GW of projects in advanced and early-stage pipelines. It also has a total battery storage project development pipeline of 52 GWh.

In August this year, the company reported a $170 million net income in the second quarter, a 130% year-over-year  increase, on the back of increased module shipments and improved margins.