Photo: Maxeon Solar Technologies
Singapore-headquartered Maxeon Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: MAXN) is restructuring to focus exclusively on the US market, but has put its $1 billion Albuquerque solar cell plant on ice.
Maxeon Solar's bet in the US
Maxeon is selling its global sales and marketing assets in EMEA, Latin America, and Asia Pacific to its parent company, TCL Group, which will also acquire Maxeon's Philippines manufacturing operations. TCL will then operate under a new name, TCL SunPower International. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Maxeon will continue to operate as an independent, publicly traded Nasdaq-listed company focused exclusively on the US residential, commercial, and utility-grade markets to “drive growth and profitability.” The company also announced that it has leased an existing building in Albuquerque for five years and plans to begin production of solar panels at this 2-gigawatt (GW) facility in early 2026.
George Guo, Maxeon's CEO, said, “Given the successful financing, this site will allow Maxeon to quickly deploy a 2 GW module assembly facility while continuing to explore our long-term goal of establishing solar-cell manufacturing capacity.”
Guo is talking about it when he talks about the production of solar-cells by a $1 billion factory. In August 2023, the company said it will build a 3-gigawatt (GW) solar-cell and panel factory in Mesa del Sol, Albuquerque, from the ground up. It had planned to start construction of the facility in early 2024, but after delays, it has now been put on hold. Mesa del Sol, which says it is still working with Maxeon on the construction project, has extended an agreement for the company to purchase 100 hectares of land, according to Albuquerque Business Journal. If built, it would be the largest plant of its kind in the US.
Electrek's Take
Maxeon has had a tumultuous year. In May, it was investigated for violating US government securities laws, and received a slap from Nasdaq for delaying the release of quarterly financial reports. It then received a financial boost in the form of a nearly $200 million investment from China's TCL Zhonghuan, which gave the company a more than 50% stake in the company. The stock is also down 99% this year.
Recently, Maxeon ran into trouble with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Earlier this month, it revealed that CBP seized its solar panels from Mexico and solar cells from Malaysia. CBP has intensified its scrutiny of solar panel chains to ensure there are no links to forced labor involving the Uyghur community.
Maxeon stressed that its panels are not affiliated with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The sale of Maxeon's Asian assets to TCL should help streamline the CBP documentation process, but Trump's recent announcement of Mexican tariffs could be a fly in the ointment, too.
It's no wonder the Chinese-owned company with a tanking share price wants to build panels in a solar-friendly location in New Mexico as soon as possible.
Read more: Maxeon to open 3 GW solar plant in New Mexico
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