Norwegian monocrystalline solar wafer producer NorSun AS signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Clayco for its $620 million solar wafer and silicon ingot manufacturing plant in Tulsa, Okla. the companies recently announced.
NorSun plans to build a 5 GW plant at the site, a 60-acre greenfield site in the Mingo Development Area near Tulsa International Airport. There is room on site to potentially expand the plant’s capacity to 10 GW in the future.
According to NorSun, construction is scheduled to begin next year for production to begin in 2026.
The plant would be among the first facilities in the United States to produce its components, according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, which helped facilitate the development. The project “marks an important step in rebuilding the U.S. solar value chain,” Anthony Johnson, president of Clayco’s industrial business unit, said in a statement.
In discussing their selection of Clayco, which ranks No. 23 on the ENR 2024 Top 400 Contractors list and No. 12 in industrial sector work, NorSun executives said they were looking for a contractor with experience, benchmark work and capacity for complex industrial facilities.
“His focus on collaboration and experience in delivering large scale projects of this nature has given us great confidence in his ability to deliver on budget, schedule and quality as we execute the work with the highest safety and environmental standards,” said Harald Bakke, project. director of NorSun, in a statement.
