Walz put national spotlight on a large Minnesota solar plant, but overstates size of plant

As the vice presidential debate unfolded last week, Martin Pochtaruk suddenly had a flood of text messages.

"My phone was pinging like when it's your birthday and everybody calls," he said, laughing.

That's because Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gave Pochtaruk's growing solar manufacturing company a prime-time shoutout.

Heliene Inc.'s plant in the small city of Mountain Iron was Walz's local example of a green jobs creator — fueled by federal investment under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

"The largest solar manufacturing plant in North America sits in Minnesota," Walz said.

That's not true, making it another of Walz's misstatements on the campaign trail.

Heliene's Iron Range plant is big enough to rate as one of the country's bigger producers of solar modules. But it's eclipsed by several facilities, including one in Georgia. Ohio, home to Republican VP nominee and U.S. Sen. JD Vance, also has a larger plant.

The Harris-Walz campaign declined to comment.

Pochtaruk, president of the Ontario-based Heliene, appreciated the attention all the same.

"We might be the oldest," Pochtaruk said by phone Monday. "What I would say, tongue in cheek, is we are the largest to [Walz] and that's all that counts."

"We don't need to be the largest. What is important is that we're creating jobs in the state."

Size rankings aside, Heliene has long been a favorite of local politicians, especially those citing a clean energy success story. The company has grown since it started manufacturing in 2010 in a sector dominated by China.

In 2017, Heliene took over the Iron Range digs of a failed Minnesota solar venture. A 2021 expansion cost $21 million, with more than $11 million funded through state grants and loans.

Heliene is also on a hot streak, growing again thanks to federal incentives, demand for domestic solar products and with support from private investors bullish on Heliene's future. The company says it will qualify for the "45X" credit for domestic production of wind and solar parts.

"Our members have been seeking more options in terms of product, and that's been a criticism of the industry for a long time," said Logan O'Grady, executive director of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group for solar developers.

Nearly all panels, and the solar cells that make up those panels, come from China, O'Grady said.

"Now because of the [Inflation Reduction Act] we're seeing more options for them pop up; not just in Minnesota but all over the country, we're seeing examples of these new manufacturing sites open," O'Grady said.

More local companies will work with Heliene as it expands, he added.

On Monday, Heliene announced an investment of up to $54 million from a private equity firm, its latest big cash infusion. The money will help as the company works to open a new solar production line in Rogers. The facility will increase Heliene's capacity nearly 70% and create another 150 full time jobs, the company said.

Heliene struck a four-year supply deal with Excelsior Energy Capital for panels from the Rogers plant, which Pochtaruk said could open in May.

The company is also eyeing another large new U.S. plant by 2026, this one to build solar cells in conjunction with an India-based manufacturer that supplies the Mountain Iron facility. Pochtaruk said he expects that plant to be in Minnesota, too, though he's shopping around.

As of now, a Georgia plant run by Suniva is the only facility producing cells in the U.S., according to a federal inventory. Pochtaruk said Heliene is the only module producer in the U.S. with access to those domestic-made cells.

Heliene also said in December it spent $10 million to open another manufacturing and assembly line at the Mountain Iron plant.

Pochtaruk said most political candidates say it's important to have solar manufacturing in the U.S. to support the country's energy transition. Walz's comments drove that idea home. "What I think of it, with pride, is that we're doing something right," he said.