First Solar plans to invest more than $1.2 billion to build a new module manufacturing facility, and increase capacity at its existing operations, in response to credits for U.S. solar manufacturing that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the company announced.
First Solar plans to invest up to $1 billion in a new, 3.5 GW module factory in the Southeast, while an additional $185 million will be dedicated to adding nearly 1 GW of new manufacturing capacity to the company's facility in Ohio.
Pending regulatory approvals, First Solar said it expects the new factory to come online in 2025. First Solar expects the investment to crease "at least" 850 new manufacturing jobs, bringing the company's U.S. employment total to more than 3,000 people in four states by 2025.
“In passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration has 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,” First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said in an August 30 statement. “This investment is an important step towards achieving self-sufficiency in solar technology, which, in turn, supports America’s energy security ambitions, its deployment of solar at scale, and its ability to lead with innovation."
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First Solar said it also intends to expand capacity at its Perrysburg and Lake Township, Ohio facilities by 0.6 GW to 3.6 GW. The company will also expand a third Ohio factory, expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2023, to 3.5 GW.
Taken together, First Solar expects the investments to total over $3 billion with a cumulative annual production capacity of over 7 GW by 2025. The company expects to have over 10 GW of U.S. manufacturing capacity by 2025.
On a July call with investors, First Solar announced it had a "record" bookings backlog of 44.3 GW.
Widmar signaled that "further investments" could be announced in the future, depending on market demand.
Baked into the Inflation Reduction Act are provisions of the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, which incentivizes U.S. production throughout the solar value chain. The incentives would provide new certainty for domestic solar manufacturers and developers, who seek a 'Made in America' product that is difficult to source.
Elements include:
- 11 cents/watt for integrated modules
- 7 c/w for non-integrated solar modules
- 4 c/w for cells
- $12/sq. m. of wafer
- $3/kg of polysilicon
- 40 c/sq. m. of polymeric backsheet
