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Power Electronics breaks ground on massive Houston inverter campus

Power Electronics breaks ground on massive Houston inverter campus

Built World

Spanish inverter maker's 40 GW Texas campus now has a developer, two phases and a 2027 delivery target

November 3rd, 2026: Developer details Fairbanks Landing phases

Overview

Updated 6 days ago

Power Electronics broke ground September 24 on a 53-acre inverter campus in northwest Houston. Austin developer Freehill Co. has started the first phase: two build-to-suit buildings totaling 809,220 square feet, due in the third quarter of 2027.

Freehill plans a second phase of two speculative buildings totaling 834,720 square feet, with JLL marketing the space for fourth-quarter 2027 delivery. Power Electronics says the campus will reach 40 gigawatts of annual production capacity and employ more than 400 people once fully running. The company still has not disclosed the project's cost, its initial output, the mix of solar, storage and data center products, or when 40 GW arrives.

Why it matters

US solar, storage and data center growth runs on inverters; this plant moves 40 GW of that supply onshore.

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Key Indicators

40 GW
Target annual production capacity at full ramp
Roughly the combined capacity of 400 solar plants of 100 MW each.
400+
Jobs planned in the Houston area
Company projection once the campus is fully operational.
105 GW
Power Electronics global annual capacity after expansion
Adds the Houston campus to an expanded factory in Llíria, Valencia, Spain.
850,000 sq ft
Floor space across two planned buildings
Company figures: a 150,000 sq ft building for offices, R&D and electronics manufacturing, and 700,000 sq ft for production and logistics. The developer cites 809,220 sq ft for Phase I.
834,720 sq ft
Speculative Phase II space
Two buildings with no tenant signed, targeted for fourth-quarter 2027 delivery and marketed for lease by JLL.

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People Involved

DS
David Salvo
Chief executive, Power Electronics
Leading the company's US expansion

Organizations Involved

Power Electronics
Power Electronics
Private manufacturer of power conversion systems
Building the Houston campus; expanding its Spanish plant

Spain-based maker of inverters and power conversion systems for solar, battery storage, data centers, electric mobility and industrial drives.
FR
Freehill Co.
Industrial developer
Building Phase I of Fairbanks Landing in northwest Houston

Austin-based developer building the Power Electronics campus in northwest Houston.

Timeline

March 2024 November 2026

5 events Latest: November 3rd, 2026 · 1 week ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Developer details Fairbanks Landing phases

    Latest Development

    REBusinessOnline reported Freehill Co. broke ground on the 809,220-square-foot Phase I build-to-suit and plans two speculative buildings totaling 834,720 square feet for fourth-quarter 2027. JLL is marketing Phase II.

  2. Freehill Development named as Houston campus developer

    Development

    Texas Construction Hub reported Freehill Development is the first-phase build-to-suit developer for the campus, with building delivery targeted for the third quarter of 2027. Power Electronics has not tied a finish line to the 40 GW production target.

  3. Construction Review publishes project details

    Reporting

    Trade outlet reported the 40 GW capacity target, noting the company disclosed no investment figure, construction timetable or ramp-up date.

  4. Groundbreaking at Fairbanks North Houston Road

    Construction

    Power Electronics broke ground on the 53-acre Houston campus at 9220 Fairbanks North Houston Road, attended by company leadership and officials.

  5. Power Electronics sets US expansion strategy

    Strategy

    Company outlined roughly €300 million in investment across Spain and the US for 2024-2027, targeting over 20 GW of additional US capacity by 2026.

Scenarios

1

Power Electronics reaches 40 GW Houston capacity

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2030

Discussed by: Company statements; no external analyst has issued a forecast, since Power Electronics has not set a ramp date

The campus completes both buildings, production lines scale across solar and storage inverter lines, and Power Electronics publicly confirms the 40 GW annual target. This is the optimistic case, requiring sustained US demand and smooth construction. The company has given no date for reaching it.

2

Houston campus opens but ramps below target

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Trade press noting the company disclosed no initial capacity or product split

First production starts within a few years, but the plant operates well below 40 GW, with no full-ramp commitment. Demand softens, supply chains slip, or the company intentionally matches output to orders. This matches the pattern of US inverter plants that announce large targets but scale gradually.

3

Houston construction delays production past 2027

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: No named analyst; flagged by the absence of a construction timeline or named general contractor

With no contractor named and no construction schedule published, the project slips. No production start is announced by end of 2027. This scenario tracks an unforced risk: large industrial campuses routinely miss early schedules, and Power Electronics has not committed to a date.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

August 2022 - ongoing

US solar manufacturing boom under the Inflation Reduction Act (2022-2026)

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed in August 2022, offered tax credits for domestically produced solar panels, cells and inverters. A wave of US factory announcements followed, from module plants in Georgia and Ohio to cell and polysilicon facilities in the Southeast.

Then

US solar manufacturing capacity grew sharply, though inverter and cell capacity lagged panel assembly.

Now

The credits created the domestic content market Power Electronics is now building to serve.

Why this matters now

The Houston campus is part of this same industrial policy wave: buyers qualify for incentives by sourcing US-made gear, which pulls inverter production onshore.

2014-2016

Tesla Gigafactory Nevada (2014-2016)

Tesla and Panasonic built a massive lithium-ion battery plant in the Nevada desert to supply cells for vehicles and, later, grid storage. It became a template for single-site energy manufacturing at gigawatt scale.

Then

The plant scaled battery output through the late 2010s and anchored Tesla's storage business.

Now

It showed that US energy transition hardware can be manufactured at enormous scale domestically, though ramp-up took years longer than initial targets.

Why this matters now

The Houston campus is a similar bet on US-scale energy manufacturing, and like the Gigafactory it faces the gap between announced capacity and actual ramp.

Sources

(9)
+3
Construction Review Energy-Storage.News North American Clean Energy Hoodline Intersolar & Energy Storage North America SolarNews América Power Electronics pv magazine España REBusinessOnline