Heliene has invested about $10 million to expand its manufacturing and assembly line in the US state of Minnesota.

Heliene, a supplier of North American-made solar PV modules, has invested an additional $10 million to expand its manufacturing and assembly line at its facility in Mountain Iron, Minnesota.

Minnesota Line One was first installed in 2018 at 150 MW and has now doubled in capacity to 300 MW with this recent investment. Line One is situated contiguously to a second, 500MW line installed in 2022. The company reports that the upgrades will improve the efficiency of the line and enable the production of TOPCon solar modules.

Heliene has a technology roadmap that calls for the manufacture of PERC modules up to December 2024, while TOPCon will be the new technology starting in February 2024. There will be an overlap of PERC and TOPCon throughout 2024 within the company’s three manufacturing lines.

“The reason Heliene and many other solar equipment manufacturers are moving into Topcon and/or HJT is to advance its product offer, to make these products more efficient,” Heliene CEO Martin Pochtaruk told . “Not different than when everyone went into monocrystalline only, leaving polycrystalline in the past.”

The expanded line is also expected to create an estimated 130 new jobs in Minnesota’s Iron Range. When asked about the challenge in finding workers, Pochtaruk said that paying more and providing full benefits for the employees and their families has shown to be a good plan. He also noted that Heliene works with the local trade colleges to design curricula to meet the company’s needs.