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First Solar announced plans to build a solar panel manufacturing facility in the Southeast region of the U.S. The investment will total approximately $1 billion. The fully integrated factory will serve as the company’s fourth in the U.S.
Additionally, First Solar said it would invest $185 million to upgrade its Ohio facilities. The new location will make 3.5 gigawatts of solar modules each year by 2025. The company projects that its facilities in Ohio will post a cumulative annual production capacity of more than 7 gigawatts by the same year.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which, in part, aims to encourage domestic manufacturing of clean energy products, played a significant role in First Solar’s decision to build a new site in the U.S. First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said the legislation created a view and understanding of the industry and its policies.
First Solar revealed in a second-quarter earnings call that it is sold out through 2025 with a backlog of 44 gigawatts. The company wants the building process to move quickly and will consider sites close to shovel-ready and the area’s worker availability.
First Solar hopes to identify the site before the start of the fourth quarter.
Image Credit: Diyana Dimitrova / Shutterstock.com
