America’s First Solar Invests up to $1.2 Billion in Scaling Production by 4.4 GW

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First Solar, a US-based manufacturer of solar panels, has announced plans to invest up to $1.2 Billion in scaling the production of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules that are made in America and are responsibly produced. By 2025, the investment is expected to increase the company’s capacity to manufacture solar modules built in the US for the US solar market to over 10 gigawatts (GW) DC.

Upgradation & Upscaling in the Offing  

The company plans to construct its fourth fully vertically integrated domestic factory, with an annual capacity of 3.5 GWDC, in the US Southeast as part of its push to expand up US manufacture of solar modules. First Solar also plans to invest up to $1 billion in the new facility, which is anticipated to start operations in 2025 subject to permits and the approval of numerous federal, state, regional, and municipal incentives.

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First Solar will also spend an additional $185 million to upgrade and add 0.9 GW-DC to its Northwest Ohio manufacturing footprint, which is already the biggest vertically integrated facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

First Solar will invest to increase the capacity of its two operational sites in Perrysburg and Lake Township, Ohio, by 0.6 GW-DC to 3.6 GW-DC of annual Series 6 module capacity, as part of its goals. The company will also increase the capacity of its third Ohio factory, which is anticipated to be operational in the first half of 2023, to 3.5 GW-DC per year for Series 7 modules. By 2025, First Solar will have invested more than $3 billion in its Ohio manufacturing sites, with a cumulative annual production capacity of more than 7 GW-DC.

By 2025, First Solar expects the additional investment to create at least 850 new manufacturing jobs, bringing its total number of direct employment in the US to over 3,000 across four states, making it the largest employer in the US solar manufacturing industry. As a result of its current and upcoming manufacturing operations, First Solar is also anticipated to support an estimated 15,000 indirect and induced jobs by the year 2025.

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First Solar declared a record bookings backlog of 44.3 GW-DC on its most recent earnings call on July 28, 2022. Its thin-film PV modules are designed and developed at its R&D facilities in California and Ohio, and they are industry leaders in terms of performance in terms of design, quality, dependability, durability, and the environment.