'Enabling US' clean energy future' | First Solar invests $1.2bn to boost solar module output

In response to the new US climate law, First Solar will invest up to $1.2bn to increase production of American-made modules for the domestic market by 4.4GW on a direct current basis by 2025.

The investment includes $1bn to build a new 3.5GW vertically integrated manufacturing facility in the US southeast, the Arizona company’s fourth in the region, and at least $185m to expand its existing Ohio footprint by 960MW.

When they are fully online, the nation’s largest solar manufacturer will have capacity to produce more than 10GW of modules at home for American projects.

CEO Mark Widmer said with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration had “entrusted our industry with the responsibility of enabling America’s clean energy future and we must meet the moment in a manner that is both timely and sustainable.”

He said First Solar’s investment is an important step towards the US achieving self-sufficiency in solar technology which, in turn, supports the country’s energy security ambitions, its deployment of solar at scale, and ability to lead with innovation.

The law includes $369bn in spending and clean energy-related tax credits to counter climate change, the biggest such investment in US history.

First Solar will be eligible for a new manufacturers’ tax credit of 30% for the amount invested in both the new and upgraded factories, as well as another new “advanced” manufacturers’ tax credit of $0.04/watt for each thin film cell and $0.07/watt for module assembly.

First Solar thin-film modules feature a layer of cadmium telluride (CdTel) semiconductor that is 3% the thickness of a human hair.

Widmer estimates that the new investment will create at least 850 new manufacturing positions, raising its total number of direct jobs in the US to more than 3,000 people.

Crystalline silicon is the predominant solar technology in the US with 80% of panels employed in utility projects sourced in southeast Asia.

The US installed a record 23.6GW of solar capacity in 2021 despite Covid-19 impacts, supply chain disruptions, trade restrictions, and other challenges.

The industry now can produce about 7GW of modules annually on a direct current basis, according to Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a trade group based in Washington, DC.

First Solar also operates factories in Malaysia and Vietnam, and is building its first new manufacturing plant in India.