First Solar Plans $1.2B Expansion Of Solar Panel Factories

Solar panel manufacturer First Solar plans to spend as much as $1.2B to expand its U.S. panel-making capacity by about 75%, citing the Inflation Reduction Act as a catalyst for domestic solar panel production.

First Solar CEO Mark Widmar wrote in a blog post that the company will invest as much as $1B to develop a new facility in the Southeast, though he didn't specify an exact location. The new factory will be able to make enough panels to produce 3.5 gigawatts annually.

The company also plans to spend as much as $200M to expand its northwest Ohio manufacturing footprint by 0.9 gigawatts. The facility is already the largest solar-panel complex of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, according to the company.

Altogether, Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar expects to have over 10 gigawatts of annual capacity by 2025, up from 6 gigawatts. By then, the company also expects to employ over 3,000 people in four states.

"[IRA] creates the scaffolding required to scale the full spectrum of activities, from critical minerals processing and investment in grid infrastructure to R&D and domestic manufacturing, required to effectively support energy security objectives," Widmar wrote.       

Specifically, the IRA includes billions in incentives for companies making sustainable energy products, such as solar panels, as well as tax credits for companies using American-made sustainable energy components.

First Solar could be eligible for tax credits ranging from 4 cents to 18 cents per watt, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a recent report by Roth Capital Partners Managing Partner Philip Shen, meaning the new plant could earn the company between $140M and $630M in tax credits a year.