Overview
- ES Foundry completed a 2 GW expansion and produced the first cell from the new line on Tuesday, July 7, bringing the Greenwood facility's annual output to 3 GW.
- With 3 GW online, ES Foundry is now considered the second‑largest U.S. silicon cell maker, behind Qcells' 3.5 GW plant in Georgia.
- The Greenwood factory makes crystalline bifacial PERC cells, a proven technology the company says avoids the intellectual property disputes dogging newer TOPCon suppliers.
- ES Foundry has hired more than 400 workers in Greenwood and says it has signed several domestic supply agreements that should help U.S. module makers secure audit‑ready, onshore cells.
- The expansion comes as U.S. module capacity grows and trade pressure on imported cells increases, a dynamic that analysts say will raise demand for verified domestic cell suppliers through 2027.