New U.S. venture looks to create solar panel manufacturing ecosystem

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A newly formed U.S. company, backed by Indian solar panel maker Vikram Solar, is investing $1.5 billion in creating a solar panel manufacturing industry to rival China’s dominance in the space.

The new firm — VSK Energy — will start operations in Brighton, Colo., building a module production facility that is expected to open next year, along with a second facility in a southern state in 2025.

China has long been the world’s preeminent provider of solar panel technology, but the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act aims to reduce U.S. reliance on the superpower and create its own clean energy ecosystem.

While the financial backers of VSK say they would have invested in the U.S. anyway, the IRA makes the deal far more lucrative and timely.

The pandemic and subsequent supply chain crisis created an impetus for establishing a U.S.-based manufacturing hub, but the IRA “certainly helped to accelerate the timetable to launch this project,” said Alex Hung, partner at Phalanx Impact Partners, a sustainability-focused private equity firm that is helping to fund the deal.

Other international companies are looking to take advantage of the subsidies and the flurry of activity and investment the IRA has created, with Canadian firms bringing more of their business south of the border.

This is the second major clean energy deal to go toward Brighton. Earlier this year, a lithium-ion battery maker chose the city as home for its latest factory.

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