Maxeon's solar module factory in Ensenada, northern Mexico

The solar panel manufacturer announced a five-year lease of a factory in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Maxeon Solar Technologies announced a business pivot geographical strategy, stating intent to serve the U.S. market exclusively.

“As Maxeon intensifies its focus on the U.S. market, our priority is to further expand our growing residential and commercial partner network and support our well-established base of utility-scale customers,” said George Guo, Maxeon’s chief executive officer.

In pursuit of this new strategy, the company announced it will lease a factory site in Albuquerque, New Mexico with plans to operate a facility with 2 GW of solar panel manufacturing capacity in early 2026.

Guo said the company module assembly plant can be deployed “rapidly” while the company continues to evaluate its longer-term objective of establishing solar cell manufacturing capacity.

In rest-of-world markets, Maxeon and TCL Technology Group, the parent company of its majority shareholder, have reached agreement-in-principle for the sale of Maxeon’s global sales and marketing organization to TCL Group which will be incorporated into a newly formed solar solutions business unit, TCL SunPower International. The two companies agreed TCL Group will acquire Maxeon’s manufacturing operations in Philippines.

“Outside of the U.S., TCL SunPower plans to provide innovative, sustainable solar solutions for both homeowners and businesses,” said Kevin Wang, TCL Group President, and COO. “These would include SunPower branded solar solutions sold via the existing SunPower branded exclusive installation partners, as well as TCL Solar products sold through distribution channels.”

Denied entry

Earlier this month, solar panels shipped from a Mexico factory by manufacturer Maxeon Solar were blocked from entry to the U.S. market by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

Maxeon has filed a request for further review with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to review the products, which the company said is in full compliance with U.S. laws.

Three different Maxeon products manufactured in Mexico were detained in July 2024. Since then, all shipments have been excluded. This is despite Maxeon’s claims that it has established the supply chains for each component, from quartz to module, are outside the scope of the UFLPA.

Following the July 2024 exclusion from the market, the publicly traded company withdrew its forecasts for revenues in 2024, citing uncertainty in its largest market. In September 2024, the company faced a potential delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange. It performed a 100 to 1 reverse stock split in October to remain listed.

Headquartered in Singapore, Maxeon Solar Technologies had over 40 years of history and 1,900 patents to design solar panels for residential, commercial, and power plant customers. TCL Technology Group is a diversified global technology provider of display and solar-grade silicon materials.