If you're wondering why SUNation Energy Inc. (SUNE) is having such a good Wednesday morning, the answer lies in a big pile of cash heading to its future merger partner. Shares of SUNation jumped nearly 26% in premarket trading after Suniva, the company it's set to combine with, announced it had closed an $835 million capital raise to supercharge its U.S. solar cell manufacturing plans.

That's a hefty chunk of change, and it came from a mix of debt and equity financing. The investor list reads like a who's who of institutional capital: Lion Point Capital, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, I Squared Capital, JBA Asset Management, Electron Capital Partners, Orion Infrastructure Capital, and Rubric Capital Management all chipped in.

Solar Capacity Set To Jump

So what's the money for? Suniva is building its second U.S. solar cell manufacturing plant, a massive 4.5-gigawatt facility in Laurens County, South Carolina. The company expects to finish construction in late 2027 and have the plant fully ramped up by 2028. Once that happens, Suniva's total U.S. solar cell capacity will leap to 5.5 gigawatts.

The project comes with a price tag of roughly $600 million, and it's expected to create 564 advanced manufacturing jobs. The building itself is already taking shape, with the shell of the 621,468-square-foot structure complete. Suniva already runs a 1-gigawatt high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cell facility in Norcross, Georgia, so this expansion is a major step up.

Domestic Supply Chain Supports Expansion

Suniva says it's not starting from scratch. The company benefits from an established domestic supply chain, and it's already locked in long-term offtake agreements covering most of its planned future production. That means buyers are lined up before the panels even roll off the line.

CEO Tony Etnyre framed the expansion as a response to growing demand for domestically produced solar cells. "This additional capacity will help us meet rising demand and strengthen the U.S. solar supply chain," he said, essentially.

SUNation Merger Ahead

All of this is happening as Suniva gets ready to tie the knot with SUNation Energy. The two companies announced a definitive reverse merger agreement back on June 8. Under the deal, Suniva will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of SUNation, and the combined entity will operate under the Suniva name while keeping SUNation's Nasdaq Capital Market listing.

For SUNation shareholders, this capital raise is a good sign that the merger is progressing and that the combined company will have the financial firepower to make a real dent in the U.S. solar manufacturing landscape.

SUNE Stock Price Activity: SUNation Energy shares were up 25.74% at $2.98 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to market data.