First Solar's India manufacturing facility to receive financial incentives

First Solar was one of only three manufacturers selected to receive the full range of incentives, which are reserved for fully vertically integrated manufacturing. The incentives are subject to the facility meeting product efficiency and domestic value creation thresholds – which will be evaluated on a quarterly basis starting in the second quarter of 2026 through 2031.

The PLI program is intended to promote the manufacturing of high-efficiency solar modules in India and to reduce India’s dependency on foreign imports of solar modules. Under the scheme, manufacturers are selected through a competitive bid process and receive certain cash incentives over a five-year period following the commissioning of their manufacturing facilities.

First Solar's new facility, expected to be commissioned in the second half of this year, located in the state of Tamil Nadu and will have an annual nameplate capacity of 3.4 gigawatts (GW)DC. Designed using the manufacturing template established by First Solar’s newest factory in Ohio – the facility will produce the company’s Series 7 modules.

First Solar says that it is also expanding its US manufacturing footprint, which currently stands at over 5 GW of annual nameplate capacity (a theoretical output registered with authorities) with three operating factories in Ohio, to over 10 GW by 2025 when it completes its new USD 1.1 billion factory in Alabama and a USD 185 million expansion of its existing capacity in Ohio. The company is expected to have over 20 GW of annual global nameplate manufacturing capacity by 2025.