27 April 2018

First Solar to build new 1.2GW Series 6 module manufacturing plant, tripling US capacity

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Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module maker First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA plans to build a new 1 million square foot facility in Lake Township, Ohio (near its existing flagship plant in Perrysburg) to manufacture its Series 6 modules.

Contingent on confirmation of state and local incentive packages currently in negotiation, construction should begin in mid-2018, and the plant should enter full production mode in late 2019 with an annualized capacity of 1.2GW. The factory is expected to create 500 new jobs in northwestern Ohio.

Already the USA’s largest PV module maker, the existing plant’s Series 6 manufacturing capacity of 600MW plus the new plant’s 1.2GW will raise First Solar’s annualized US module manufacturing capacity to 1.8GW.

“Strong demand in the US for advanced solar technology, along with recent changes in US corporate tax policies, have encouraged our decision to grow First Solar’s US production operations,” says senior VP of global manufacturing Mike Koralewski. “State and local officials and Jobs Ohio have also worked with us to create a business-friendly environment that supported our objectives,” he adds. “These factors, combined with our own economies of scale in high-tech manufacturing, make expanding US operations an attractive, win-win opportunity.”

The capital investment for the expansion will be about $400m, with a workforce of about 500 associates and an annual payroll of $30m. Koralewski says that First Solar also has options for potential further manufacturing expansion in the future, depending on sustained US demand for solar technology.

“We originated in Ohio, and we’re proud to build on that history as we grow into the future,” says chief operating officer Tymen de Jong. In 2017, First Solar invested $175m in re-tooling the original Perrysburg plant for production of its new Series 6 product. This April, the facility re-started an idled Series 4 production line to meet continued demand for that product.

First Solar was formed in 1999, and established its first manufacturing facility in Perrysburg. Full-scale commercial production began in 2002. The firm has so far invested about $3bn in Ohio, including wages paid, manufacturing purchases, research & development costs and taxes. The flagship Perrysburg plant is the largest solar manufacturing facility in the USA, working with more than 250 US suppliers and indirectly supporting more than 4000 jobs across Ohio. With production facilities in the USA, Malaysia and Vietnam, First Solar has so far sold more than 17GW of modules.

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