Maxeon deal gets top honors from Site Selection magazine

May 3—A deal struck to have a Singapore-based company invest $1 billion in an Albuquerque facility and bring 1,800 jobs to the area has been named one of the 2023 Top Deals in North America by a national magazine.

Site Selection magazine recently named New Mexico's deal with Maxeon Solar Technologies as the 17th top deal of the year in North America and one of just a handful of similar deals focused on advanced energy production. The top deal was Tesla's commitment to bring 5,000 jobs to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

The Maxeon manufacturing plant is expected to be built on a 160-acre site at Mesa del Sol in a 1.9 million-square-foot complex. The facility is projected to produce 8 million solar panels per year. The facility will produce silicon cell technology for utility scale power and rooftop applications.

The Maxeon deal was the second such deal to earn New Mexico national attention in recent years. The same publication in 2021 recognized the state's deal with Netflix.

"The state has a strong track record of recruiting global companies that will have a significant economic impact and help New Mexico families attain higher-paying jobs and economic security," Acting Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Mark Roper said in a statement.

Forrest Monroy, a spokesman for Maxeon, said the company is continuing to make progress at its Albuquerque site. Maxeon has completed a number of surveys, geotechnical investigation, certain permit reviews and has submitted required architectural reviews and completed the construction air permit. The company is still working on its site design and has to close financing. The plan is to break ground in the second half of 2024, he said.

Once completed, the Maxon facility is expected to be double in size of the next largest silicon solar manufacturing facility in the country.

The site design includes solar cell fabrication, panel assembly, a warehouse, and administrative offices, according to the New Mexico Economic Development Department.

State and local governments contributed to the incentive package to lure Maxeon to the state. The company received state manufacturing tax credits, credits for high-wage job creation, property tax relief from Bernalillo County Industrial Revenue Bonds and a new Advanced Energy Tax Credit.

"This project highlights how New Mexico's investments in clean energy and manufacturing have built an ideal business environment for companies like Maxeon," New Mexico Partnership President & CEO Melinda Allen said in a statement. "It's also a great example of how our government and industry stakeholders can mobilize quickly and effectively to meet the needs of a large-scale project."