Solar manufacturing factories are coming to Houston — and they're expected to add thousands of jobs
The transition from concept to practice for a number of clean energy businesses is taking shape, with at least four solar-related companies opening facilities in the Houston area this summer.
The manufacturing plants — the first in the United States for each of the four companies — could together generate nearly 1,500 jobs as production ramps up to full capacity through the next year, according to company representatives.
Turkey-based Elin Energy, which opened in Brookshire in April; Laos-based Imperial Star Solar, which opened in Tomball this week; and U.S-based SEG Solar, which plans to open in Houston in August, all manufacture solar panels. Spain-based PV Hardware opened a factory in Houston last month to manufacture solar trackers, which maximize solar power generation by orienting panels to follow the sun’s movement.
“These projects underscore our region’s pivotal role in the global energy transition and are a testament to the region’s unparalleled infrastructure, international connectivity and skilled workforce,” Craig Rhodes, senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Houston Partnership, said in a statement.
More are on the way. India-based Waaree Energies plans to open a solar panel manufacturing facility in Brookshire by the fourth quarter that could produce 5 gigawatts of panels annually by 2027. The company plans to hire more than 1,500 people once at full capacity.
Thailand-based CZT Energy, a solar parts manufacturer, plans to open in Sealy and bring 135 jobs, while California-based Solar Plus, a solar panel manufacturer, plans to open in Humble and add 200, according first quarter new business announcements facilitated by the Greater Houston Partnership. These two projects could also add more than 1,100 indirect jobs and contribute more than $220 million to the region’s gross domestic product, according to Rhodes.
Emilio Garcia, chief operating officer of PV Hardware, said the company picked Houston for its first U.S. factory to be closer to its clients. Texas had more than 32 gigawatts of utility, residential and other solar installed through the first quarter of 2024, second only to California. The energy source has played a larger role on the Texas grid, with the amount of solar power generation setting 10 records so far this year.
“Now we have a factory in the U.S. to produce locally and to deliver without any worries about the transportation costs or any delay in manufacturing,” Garcia said. The factory plans to hire up to 120 workers and build trackers for 12 gigawatts of solar panels each year, he said.
Elin Energy employs around 110 people and plans to hire up to 500 in all as production doubles to 2 gigawatts of residential solar panels by September, according to Ercan Kalafat, CEO of Sirius PV, Elin’s U.S. subsidiary. Similarly, Jun Zhuge, SEG Solar chief operating officer, said the company plans to hire more than 500 people for its facility producing up to 2 gigawatts of utility-scale panels.
Sara Vargo, Imperial Star Solar marketing manager, said hiring is happening daily. The company could hire up to 350 people for its factory, expected to produce 1.5 megawatts of mostly utility-scale panels each year, she said.
The three solar panel manufacturers all cited Houston’s port as a crucial deciding factor for moving to the region. Raw materials for solar panels largely are sourced from abroad, mostly from South Asia.
Imperial Star Solar also chose Houston as its entry point into the U.S. market because of the region’s skilled workforce, particularly those employed in the oil and gas industry who may be looking to pivot, Vargo said. Indeed, human resources and administration manager Jean Paylow came to Imperial Star Solar from an oil and gas manufacturing company and spent many years of her career in and out of that industry.
Paylow said she will be looking for transferable skills from the oil and gas industry such as project management, supply chain know-how and safety expertise especially as she fills management positions.
These Houston-area facilities come almost two years after the passage of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which spurred investment announcements with its incentives for clean energy projects. Companies have announced 46 projects totaling $16.5 billion of investment in Texas, expected to bring more than 23,000 jobs, the third-most across the country, according to an analysis by advocacy group Climate Power.
Colin Leyden, the Environmental Defense Fund’s Texas director, called the investments a huge win for domestic manufacturing and local economies.
“Texas’s booming economy and growing population rely on clean energy to get us through the extreme heat of summer. President Biden is doing his part to support the flourishing Texas clean energy industry that keeps electric bills low and the lights on,” Leyden said in a statement.