Solar panel manufacturer to establish $23.78M Shenandoah County facility

Woodbridge-based solar panel startup MSolar Manufacturing plans to invest $23.78 million to establish a manufacturing facility in Shenandoah County that is expected to create 150 jobs, Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Thursday.

Founded in 2018, MSolar has renovated a vacant warehouse into a 56,000-square-foot facility in Mount Jackson that will produce high-efficiency solar modules for large-scale energy projects. The site is expected to become operational in August.

“By choosing to invest in Mount Jackson, MSolar is creating new career opportunities in the Shenandoah Valley and helping make sure Virginia has the infrastructure to make energy more affordable and reliable for local communities across our commonwealth,” Spanberger said in a statement. “Increasing energy generation is critical to addressing high energy costs and supporting greater economic growth. I congratulate MSolar on this exciting investment and look forward to watching them grow in the Shenandoah Valley.”

According to the governor’s office, the facility will produce solar glass, silicon cells and heterojunction (HJT) cells, which layer different types of silicon, and to assemble finished solar modules. The plant is expected to manufacture more than 500,000 HJT solar panels annually for utility-scale and commercial projects across the United States.

“We’re building the foundation of a vertically integrated solar manufacturing platform here in Virginia,” MSolar CEO Michael O’Connor said in a statement. “This factory represents the first step in our long-term strategy to expand domestic solar production and deliver high-performance technology for energy projects.”

According to O’Connor, MSolar has not yet done any manufacturing. He said the site Spanberger announced will be the first of four  facilities MSolar plans to build in the region within the next four to five years, all within about 8 miles of each other. He said the company will make announcements on the other sites at a later time.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Shenandoah County to secure the project and will support MSolar through the three-year Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides recruiting and training services as well as cash grant reimbursements for associated human resources costs after a company has had new employees on the payroll for at least 90 days.