Texas records suggest OCI is bringing Elite Solar to Mission Solar Energy manufacturing site

Mission Solar Energy, a longtime U.S. solar panel maker in San Antonio, Texas, has hit a rough patch. The company, owned by South Korean firm OCI, has mostly supplied panels to homeowners and residential installers. But its president told federal trade officials that cheap solar cell imports from India, Indonesia and Laos have undercut its prices so badly that the plant went from more than 200 workers to 70 by 2025, and has now temporarily stopped manufacturing altogether. That trade case is part of a broader federal investigation into unfairly priced solar imports.

At the same time, new construction filings suggest a turnaround may be coming. Mission Solar had built a large warehouse addition years ago as part of a plan to expand to 1 gigawatt of panel-making capacity, a plan that stalled. Now, permit filings show $15 million earmarked to convert that warehouse into a factory for Elite Solar, a Singapore-based panel brand with ties to OCI, with construction starting in October and finishing by June 2027.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything immediately about buying panels or getting rebates. But it's a reminder that where solar panels are made, and whether that production stays in the U.S., can shift quickly. If you're comparing panels for a home installation, brands and manufacturing locations tied to this Texas facility could look different in a year or two.