US solar energy firm Sun Pacific seals distribution deal with Vietnam producer

Sun Pacific Power Corp. (SPPC) has signed an exclusive contract to purchase and distribute solar panels in the U.S. on behalf of its Vietnam-based partner GEP New Energy Co.

The two-year contract aims to support the green energy holding company’s new marketing and distribution program, New Jersey-headquartered Sun Pacific Holding, which wholly owns SPPC, announced on Friday.

GEP New Energy produces high-efficiency solar cells and solar photovoltaic modules at its factory in Que Vo 3 Industrial Park, Bac Ninh province, near Hanoi.

Sun Pacific said it will launch its own production at the corporation’s 1.2 giga-watt manufacturing facility. The GEP Energy contract will be able to cover excess orders while the comany prepares to launch a new solar manufacturing facility.

The American holding corporation’s announcement came three weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden vetoed a Congress resolution that would have undone his two-year moratorium on tariffs for solar panels and modules imported to the U.S. from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

His tariff suspension, announced in June 2022, covered a 24-month period to make sure U.S. factories were operational and the solar industry was ready to power up American homes, businesses, and communities.

Sun Pacific Holding CEO Nicholas Campanella said in a company release from New Jersey: “While we recently started our sales and marketing campaign, we felt we had a need to be prepared with inventory for our U.S. sales while we wait to build out our own factory.”

“We have structured a two-year exclusive agreement with GEP New Energy which will also help us as we prepare for our own factory. The GEP New Energy plan will help bring new technology such as Bi-Facial panels including Perc and Topcon in conjunction with technical expertise to our new factory we are working to develop with Pt.IDN technical team.”

Campanella's corporation plans to bring over 5MW of solar panels to be housed in the two states of New Jersey and California for sales and distribution to engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

Its first order will include 18 containers for the two states which “will provide a better logistical distribution opportunity,” Campanella said.

“We are working with our sales and marketing teams using various products including GEP New Energy panels and then we will have them for additional original equipment manufacturer products in excess of our 1.2GW plant.

“This way we will not be so limited in our launch and be able to meet the growing U.S. demand for advanced solar power products,” said the CEO.

The GEP New Energy Co. plant in Vietnam's northern province of Bac Ninh runs a fully automatic solar module production line. The 11,000-square meter facility received an investment license in October 2022.

Vietnam has attracted global producers of solar modules and panels, with major American, Canadian, and Chinese investors already present, as the tropical country is ramping up investment in solar and wind power.

JinkoSolar, one of the world’s top makers of solar modules, has 12 production facilities globally, including two in Vietnam. Both are in the Song Khoai Industrial Park, developed by Thailand’s Amata Corp., in the northern province of Quang Ninh.