With the inauguration of First Solar’s new manufacturing facility in Alabama, the company will have 11 GW of domestic capacity when fully ramped up. The company has been operating three facilities in Ohio and is currently constructing $1.1 billion 3.5 GW plant in Louisiana expected to come online next year, after which the company will have over 14 GW of domestic capacity.
The plant in Lawrence County, Alabama is expected to create over 800 new manufacturing jobs.
First Solar produces thin film solar modules in a single process that allows the company to transform a sheet of glass into a fully functional solar panel in what the company says is approximately four hours. First Solar commissioned an economic analysis of its vertically integrated value chain in the United States, which found that in 2023 the company supported an estimated 16,245 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, representing $1.59 billion in annual labor income. Furthermore, its operations are supporting nearly $2.8 billion in value added and almost $5.3 billion in total output, when including indirect and induced economic effects, according to the report.
“This energy technology manufacturing facility produces American solar panels, with American-made components sourced from a supply chain that spans the country, said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “The hundreds of people that operate this facility represent the next generation of American energy workers and are joined by thousands more steelworkers, glassworkers, miners, truck drivers, railroad workers, and others that enable our mission to support our country’s energy security.”
The new integrated Alabama facility’s entire solar value chain operates under one roof, using one a single process that has quality assurance and control built in. The Series 7 modules produced in Lawrence County use Alabama-sourced steel, reportedly smelted, rolled, and fabricated within a 25-mile radius of the facility.
To date, the company’s operational manufacturing footprint in Ohio and Alabama and Louisiana represent over $4 billion in U.S. manufacturing investments.
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