First Solar’s manufacturing operations in Alabama, Louisiana and Ohio have a strong impact on jobs and the U.S. economy, according to a study conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The study found that First Solar’s U.S. operations supported an estimated 29,605 direct, indirect and induced jobs in 2025, representing approximately $3 billion in labor income. Average income per worker was found to be $101,145 per worker, or more than twice the national median personal income. Furthermore, every First Solar job is said to support an estimated six direct, indirect and induced jobs. By comparison, the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that every manufacturing job supports 4.8 jobs in the overall U.S. economy.
Overall, the manufacturer contributed an estimated $5.8 billion in direct, indirect and induced value to the U.S. economy in 2025, according to the study.
In recent years, First Solar has pursued rapid expansion of its U.S. manufacturing facilities in part due to increasing electricity demand but also as a result of demand for domestically produced solar modules fueled by changes in tax credits in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. First Solar reports that its products are insulated from trade policy risks and are compliant with foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions
The company’s stock price jumped over 15% in a trading session following its Q3 2025 earnings report that announced it would open a 3.7 GW facility in South Carolina. At the time the company reported it produced 3.6 GW of solar modules globally, including 2.5 GW in the United States and 1.1 GW internationally.
The manufacturing facility in South Carolina is expected to begin operations in the second half of this year and is projected to add 600 new jobs. It is expected to increase First Solar’s annual contribution to U.S. gross domestic product 28%, the study finds, bringing it to approximately $7.8 billion in 2027.
“This study demonstrates how genuinely American solar manufacturing can deliver long‑term economic value at the intersection of national priorities such as energy dominance, affordable electricity, and economic prosperity,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar.
First Solar’s $330 million investment in its new manufacturing facility in South Carolina, follows a separate $1.1 billion investment in new capacity, which includes a new factory in Louisiana and expansion of its existing Ohio footprint.
The recent study shows that First Solar has increased manufacturing jobs by more than 13,000 since 2023, when research conducted by the same public policy center found that First Solar supported an estimated 16,245 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country. The 2023 jobs represented $1.59 billion compared to $3 billion in annual labor income in 2025. 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.
The study notes that development, construction and maintenance of solar power plants using First Solar’s technology also provides jobs and revenue, but that data is not included in this study.
First Solar has been manufacturing in the United States since 2002, producing thin film PV modules using a continuous process under one roof that it reports does not rely on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains. The company says its proprietary, vertically integrated process takes about four hours to turn sheets of glass into fully functioning solar modules. Each module has a layer of cadmium telluride semiconductor, derived from byproducts of copper and zinc mining, which First Solar says have several benefits compared to conventional c-Si, including lower cost, superior scalability and a higher theoretical efficiency limit.
Additionally, the company operates the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere with five operational manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Louisiana and Ohio, and the South Carolina plant bringing the total to six. Altogether, First Solar reports it will have invested approximately $4.5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019.
First Solar will conduct its quarterly earnings call at 4:30 p.m. ET, February 24th.
First Solar began tracking its economic impacts in 2023 and the table below compares key economic impact metrics across focus years:
| 2023 Estimated | 2025 Estimated | 2027 Projected | |
| Total* jobs | 16,245 | 29,605 | 39,320 |
| Total* labor income | $1.6 B | $3.0 B | $4.0 B |
| Total* GDP contribution | $2.8 B | $5.8 B | $7.8 B |
* Includes direct, indirect, and induced effects.
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