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Rockdale Today
By the People, for the People
T1 Energy CEO Touts American-Made Solar as Key to Affordable Energy
Barcelo highlights how U.S. solar production can reduce energy costs and revitalize manufacturing
Published on Feb. 14, 2026
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T1 Energy CEO Dan Barcelo spoke at a Breitbart News policy event, emphasizing how U.S.-based production of new, advanced manufacturing like solar supports energy affordability and revitalizes American manufacturing. Barcelo detailed T1 Energy's operations, including a 5-gigawatt solar panel plant in Texas that employs over 1,250 people, and a new project called "G2 Austin" that aims to develop high-tech solar cells at a repurposed industrial site.
Why it matters
Barcelo's comments highlight how the changing energy landscape provides opportunities for American manufacturing competitiveness, as the entire solar production process can be reshored. This aligns with the top campaign concern of affordability, which Barcelo argues can't be solved without reducing the cost of American energy.
The details
Barcelo explained that T1 Energy owns and operates a 5-gigawatt solar panel plant in Texas, which produces 10% of the solar panel capacity in the United States. The company employs over 1,250 people in the South Dallas area. Barcelo also detailed plans for a new project called "G2 Austin" that will develop high-tech solar cells at a repurposed industrial site in Milam County, Texas, creating 1,500 high-paying automated jobs. He linked this initiative to energy security and digital infrastructure, noting the importance of fueling power for AI and data centers.
- Barcelo spoke at a Breitbart News policy event on Wednesday, February 14, 2026.
The players
Dan Barcelo
The CEO of T1 Energy, a company that owns and operates a 5-gigawatt solar panel plant in Texas and is developing a new high-tech solar cell project called "G2 Austin".
Howard Lutnick
The U.S. Commerce Secretary who participated in a panel discussion at the Breitbart News policy event.
Hemlock
A company in Michigan that supplies polysilicon, a raw material used in solar panel production, to T1 Energy.
Corning
A company in Michigan that will soon be supplying wafers, another key component in solar panel production, to T1 Energy.
Alcoa
A company that previously operated a plant in Milam County, Texas, which is now being repurposed by T1 Energy for its "G2 Austin" solar cell development project.
What they’re saying
“Look, Secretary Lutnick gets this, President Trump gets this. This is about bringing back jobs to America. This is about advanced manufacturing. This is a different type of manufacturing, and that's what we're doing with T1.”
— Dan Barcelo, CEO, T1 Energy (Breitbart News)
“We don't need to make solar panels in China and import them. We can make them in America, we can make them in Texas.”
— Dan Barcelo, CEO, T1 Energy (Breitbart News)
“The solar cell is a project which we call G2 Austin. We're in Milam County in Rockdale, Texas. That's the site of an old Alcoa plant. That plant has a lot of capacity for power, a lot of capacity for water, and we're repurposing that. It's just land now. It's nothing there. We'll soon have 1,500 high paying automated jobs there.”
— Dan Barcelo, CEO, T1 Energy (Breitbart News)
“The other point I think is very important, underscoring a lot of this is, how do we fuel power for AI and how do we fuel the data centers America needs to compete?”
— Dan Barcelo, CEO, T1 Energy (Breitbart News)
“That power is critical right now. It is the fastest to market right now. It has one of the lowest costs of development. And the real important part of solar is when it's on the grid, it's zero marginal cost. Texas, last week, half the grid midday is solar. That's zero marginal cost.”
— Dan Barcelo, CEO, T1 Energy (Breitbart News)
What’s next
T1 Energy plans to begin production at its new "G2 Austin" solar cell development project in Milam County, Texas, which is expected to create 1,500 high-paying automated jobs.
The takeaway
Barcelo's comments highlight how American-made solar manufacturing can help address the top campaign concern of affordability by reducing the cost of energy, while also revitalizing U.S. manufacturing and supporting critical digital infrastructure like AI and data centers.
