NORTH LIBERTY, IA — Solar installer Moxie Solar, which installed almost 5 MW of projects in 2018 and likely tripled its business in 2019, has announced plans to set up a 100-MW solar panel assembly operation in Iowa.

“If we are going to continue growing solar in the United States, we believe installers need a more reliable supply of high-quality U.S. made panels without the fluctuations in pricing and shipping costs,” says Jason Hall, CEO of Moxie Solar.

Moxie Solar plans to invest $10 million into a solar manufacturing facility at a yet-to-be-determined location. Mark Nolte, Moxie’s new president of manufacturing, says the company has two properties under consideration with plans to purchase existing manufacturing lines.

Moxie Solar is open to contract manufacturing opportunities with other module manufacturers that want to have panels assembled in the United States. Nolte said Moxie will use the panels in its own installations and then work to build more relationships with other installers and module makers.

“We hope that a direct-to-installer sales approach helps us keep costs down and advance solar in the U.S.,” Nolte states.

Moxie Solar expects to have the plant operational in the fall of 2020 with an estimated 150 people working multiple lines.

“It will take creativity and collaboration to revitalize U.S. solar manufacturing and Moxie wants to be part of this solution,” Hall notes.