First Solar inaugurates $1.1 billion facility in Alabama
The factory in Lawrence County adds 3.5 GW of fully vertically integrated nameplate solar manufacturing capacity to the US, and is expected to create more than 800 jobs.
First Solar has inaugurated its USD 1.1 billion fully vertically integrated thin-film solar plant in Alabama.
The factory in Lawrence County adds 3.5 GW of fully vertically integrated nameplate solar manufacturing capacity to the US, and is expected to create more than 800 jobs, the company said.
The project was first announced in November 2022 after the passing of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“This represents a great day for First Solar and for Lawrence County because this production facility is destined to become a major player in the US renewable energy market,” said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. “Moreover, the Alabama workers at this facility will help break the nation’s dependence on foreign-made solar panels and contribute to our energy independence.”
“This is the first of two fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing facilities that solidify the role of the Gulf Coast states in enabling America’s all-of-the-above energy strategy,” said First Solar CEO Mark Widmar. “This energy technology manufacturing facility produces American solar panels, with American-made components sourced from a supply chain that spans the country.”
First Solar’s advanced, highly differentiated manufacturing process allows it to transform a sheet of glass into ready-to-ship thin film solar panels in approximately four hours, the company said.
The Alabama facility’s entire solar value chain operates under one roof, using one tightly controlled process with rigorous quality assurance and control, it said.
“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,” Widmar said.
The Series 7 modules produced in Lawrence County use Alabama-sourced steel, smelted, rolled and fabricated within a 25-mile radius of the facility, the company said.
The Lawrence County factory, along with First Solar’s three operating factories in Ohio, will bring the company’s domestic nameplate manufacturing capacity to almost 11 GW and its global capacity to over 21 GW.
First Solar is also constructing a USD 1.1 billion, 3.5 GW factory in Louisiana, expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2025.
Earlier this year, the company opened a 3.3 GW thin-film manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu, India.
