This Solar PV Maker Is Planning a $400m US Plant
David Wagman | April 30, 2018First Solar says it plans to build a $400 million solar module manufacturing facility near its existing Perrysburg, Ohio plant. The 1.2 gigawatt factory will produce the company’s Series 6 thin film photovoltaic (PV) module.
The expansion plan calls for a 1 million square foot facility, with construction expected to begin in mid-2018 and entering full production in late 2019. The plan hinges on confirmation of state and local incentive packages currently in negotiation.
First Solar is the latest PV manufacturer to announce plans for new U.S. manufacturing capacity. In late January, China-based JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. said it will build a facility in Jacksonville, Florida, in part to supply NextEra Energy with up to 2,750 megawatts (MW) of solar modules — roughly seven million solar panels — over four years.
Once fully operational, JinkoSolar's factory is expected to have the capacity to build 400 MW of solar modules annually, more than one million solar panels a year. Production is expected to begin later in 2018.
In January, President Trump imposed a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panel components, with the rate declining over four years. The tariff was seen by some as spurring Jinko's U.S. investment decision.
In February, First Solar said it was moving ahead with development and construction of a 200 MW PV solar power plant in Georgia. The company was awarded the project as part of a 525 MW Request for Proposals for Georgia Power’s Renewable Energy Development Initiative. Cost details were not available.
The solar project is being developed under a power purchase agreement with Georgia Power that includes electricity and renewable attributes generated by the facility. Construction is expected to begin in November.
In 2017, Arizona-based First Solar spent $175 million into retooling the original Perrysburg plant to produce its Series 6 product. This April, the facility re-started an idled Series 4 production line to meet continued demand for that product.
The Perrysburg plant is one of the largest solar manufacturing facilities in the United States. First Solar was formed in 1999, and full-scale commercial production of thin film photovoltaic solar modules began in 2002.
