PANASOL USA LLC, a Texas-based solar panel manufacturer, is in talks with a large solar developer backed by financial institutions, infra funds, and tax credit investors to raise a total of USD 20m-25m in equity financing and a bridge loan, Chairman and CEO Ricardo Jimenez told Infralogic.

It expects to raise USD 10m in equity financing and the remaining USD 12m-14m in a bridge loan to be repaid with the proceeds from the sale of section 45X credits that are available for manufacturing solar modules in the US. The firm seeks to close the transaction within a month, he added.

The proceeds of the raise would be used in developing the second line of solar panel manufacturing of 500 MW per annum along with a warehouse. The first line of production with a capacity of 500 MW per annum is expected to be completed by 2Q24, he said.

Norton Rose is the tax and legal adviser for the transaction. PANASOL raised USD 30m in 2022-2023 from more than 20 investors to install the first phase of its manufacturing capacity, the CEO said.

Expected production for 2024 is somewhere between 180-200 MW. This could generate USD 12-14m on tax credits alone, he added.

“Our sales books have been filled up for the first line. We have firm commitments for off-taking half of our production and secured offers exceeding our capacity,” he added.

Total capacity is expected to reach 1 GW in 2025, translating into revenue of more than USD 100m per annum, he noted.

The overwhelming demand for solar panels is in line with the trend witnessed in the US industry, where new solar power installation of upwards of 700 GW by 2030 is expected, from 155 GW currently installed, according to Solar Energy Industries Association.

Competitors include Mission Solar, Canadian Solar, and Trinia Solar, among others, Jimenez said.