Texas Permit Filing Points to OCI-Elite Solar Revival at Mission Solar Plant
Solar Power World reports that a Texas Dept. of Licensing and Regulation filing shows $15 million earmarked to convert a dormant warehouse at Mission Solar Energy’s San Antonio site into an “Elite Solar factory for manufacturing,” with construction slated to start in October and finish by June 2027.
Market Impact
Mission Solar Energy, which has assembled panels in San Antonio since 2014 and holds a listed 500-MW annual module capacity, is owned by South Korean chemical conglomerate OCI Company. The plant has struggled against low-priced imports. Mission Solar president Sam Martens told the U.S. International Trade Commission in testimony tied to an ongoing antidumping/countervailing duty investigation into solar cell imports from India, Indonesia and Laos that the company’s workforce fell from more than 200 employees to 70 by 2025, and that Mission has “now temporarily ceased all manufacturing operations and related employment.” No layoff notices have been filed, suggesting furloughs rather than permanent cuts.
The warehouse now targeted for renovation was originally built as part of a 2022 expansion plan to reach 1 GW of annual capacity, then reframed in 2025 as the starting point for a $265 million, 2-GW solar cell manufacturing joint venture between Mission and OCI. Martens confirmed in his ITC testimony that those construction plans never advanced. The new permitting filing now points to Elite Solar, a Singapore-headquartered panel brand formerly known as ET Solar with a longstanding OCI relationship and a joint wafer facility in Vietnam, as the entity taking over the space. Neither Mission Solar nor Elite Solar responded to requests for comment from Solar Power World. Mission’s furlough situation mirrors recent disruptions at other domestic manufacturers: Silfab Solar furloughed workers in South Carolina in August citing material shortages, Heliene cut nearly 100 jobs at its Minnesota facility the same month, and Qcells furloughed 1,000 Georgia workers last year before resuming production four months later.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Electrical, mechanical and industrial construction subcontractors in the San Antonio area should watch for bid packages tied to the $15 million warehouse renovation, with construction slated to begin in October 2026 and finish June 2027.
- This is a permitting filing, not a confirmed subcontract award. No project owner, GC, or equipment vendor has been named publicly, so treat the Elite Solar tie-in as reported but unconfirmed by either company.
- Firms with domestic solar manufacturing experience should track ITC action on the AD/CVD case covering cell imports from India, Indonesia and Laos, since its outcome could affect whether Mission Solar’s broader 2-GW cell manufacturing plans with OCI ever move past the warehouse stage.
- Staffing and workforce services providers in San Antonio should note Mission Solar’s swing from over 200 employees to 70 by 2025, then a temporary full production halt, a signal that any ramp-up tied to the new facility could require rapid rehiring rather than new hiring from scratch.
