News: Photovoltaics
13 September 2023
Longroad adds 2GW order to existing 3.7GW framework agreement with First Solar
US-based renewable energy developer, owner and operator Longroad Energy Holdings LLC has agreed to procure an additional 2GW of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules made by First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA. To be delivered between 2027 and 2029, the order builds on an existing 3.7GW framework agreement and increases Longroad Energy’s total procurement of First Solar modules to about 8GW since 2017.
“Longroad Energy and First Solar share a longstanding partnership that’s based on shared values and a common vision for a sustainable energy future,” says Longroad Energy co-founder & chief operating officer Michael Alvarez. “By expanding our procurement of First Solar’s advanced thin-film technology, we are extending our commitment to responsibly produced renewable energy technologies and to American solar manufacturing and domestic value chains.”
First Solar claims that its PV modules have the lowest carbon and water footprint of any commercially available PV module currently, and that it is the first PV manufacturer to have its product included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) global registry for sustainable electronics.
First Solar is the only one of the world’s ten largest solar manufacturers to be a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the world’s largest industry coalition dedicated to supporting the rights and well-being of workers and communities in the global supply chain, and the firm says that it has zero tolerance for forced labor in its manufacturing or its supply chains. First Solar believes it is first to have conducted third-party social audits across its operational global manufacturing footprint.
“Our ability to deliver certainty of pricing and supply, domestic manufacturing and supply chains, and a responsibly made solar module optimized for energy provides the value customers, such as Longroad, seek,” reckons First Solar’s chief commercial officer Georges Antoun. “We look forward to growing this partnership.”
Since the start of this decade, First Solar has embarked on a manufacturing expansion strategy that has seen it grow from about 6GW of global operational nameplate capacity in 2020 to 13GW now, with further expansion expected to increase that to 25GW in 2026. First Solar commissioned its third Ohio factory earlier this year and is expected to complete a new facility in Alabama and the expansion of its existing Ohio footprint in 2024. The firm has also announced that it will complete a fifth US facility, to be located in Louisiana, in first-half 2026. Additionally, it is investing up to $370m in a dedicated R&D innovation center in Perrysburg, Ohio, to be completed next year.
Four California projects sold by First Solar go to Longroad Energy
