First Solar, Inc., a solar panel manufacturer and photovoltaic (PV) power plant provider, is investing $1.1 billion to build its fifth PV solar module manufacturing facility in the United States. The fully vertically integrated facility is expected to create 700 new jobs and increase the company’s nameplate manufacturing capacity by 3.5 GW, raising the company’s total global capacity to 25 GW.
“With this investment, we continue to help deliver on the promise of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is to create enduring value for our country,” said First Solar CEO Mark Widmar. “By expanding America’s solar manufacturing base, and the value chains that support it, we are working to ensure that the U.S. enters the next decade in a position of strength, fully capable of producing the technology it needs to complete its transition to a sustainable energy future.”
The facility is expected to be completed and commissioned in 2026, and it will manufacture First Solar’s Series 7 modules using 100% U.S.-made components identified in the U.S. Department of Treasury’s current domestic content guidance. First Solar predicts the Series 7 modules will comprise over two-thirds of its annual domestic nameplate capacity.
Over the last 12 months, First Solar has committed more than $2.8 billion in capital investments and 7.9 GW of additional manufacturing capacity in the U.S. Their latest project follows the announcement of their recent $1.3 billion investment to build a new 3.5 GW facility in Alabama and expand their existing Ohio facility by nearly 1 GW.
