First Solar Expands Panel Manufacturing as U.S. Demand Grows

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona), which manufactures photovoltaic (PV) panels and other solar equipment, enjoyed sunny results for the second quarter, and is weighing up to $1.1 billion of investment toward a fifth U.S.-based manufacturing facility. Industrial Info is tracking more than $13 billion worth of solar-generation projects nearing or under construction across the U.S. that will use, or are considering using, First Solar's panels. Industrial Info also is tracking progress at First Solar's three operational manufacturing facilities in the U.S., as well as another planned for Alabama.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for solar-generation projects across the U.S. that are nearing or under construction, with First Solar as a potential supplier.

Details are sparse about First Solar's newly proposed manufacturing facility, with no site yet selected. In a quarterly earnings-related conference call, executives said the project would add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) to First Solar's nameplate manufacturing capacity by 2026, for a total production capacity of 14 GW in the U.S. and 25 GW globally. These numbers assume First Solar's thin-film solar module plant in Trinity, Alabama, which was announced last November, is completed as currently scheduled in 2025.

The Trinity plant also is estimated to cost $1.1 billion and add 3.5 GW to First Solar's portfolio. It would be located in the Mallard Fox West Industrial Complex. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) recently announced it had secured 279 megawatts (MW) of thin-film panels from the Trinity plant. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more in a detailed project report.

Two of First Solar's three operational manufacturing facilities in the U.S. are at its complex in Walbridge, Ohio: PGT2 and PGT3, each of which manufactures thin-film PV modules. The company is in the process of expanding PGT2 to boost the production of its utility-scale Series 7 modules, which have stronger generation and longer lifetimes than previous models. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

First Solar also expects to manufacture Series 7 modules at its newly announced facility. The company anticipates that once the new factory is completed in 2026, Series 7 modules will account for more than two-thirds of its annual U.S.-built nameplate capacity.

First Solar enjoyed net sales of $810.7 million in the second quarter, an increase of more than 30% from the same period last year. The company's net income totaled $170.6 million, compared with $55.8 million in second-quarter 2022.

Among the company's recent supply agreements are two with EDP Renewables North America LLC, a subsidiary of Energias de Portugal S.A. (Lisbon, Portugal), and Energix Renewables (Ramat Gan, Israel). EDP, which announced a multi-year order for 1.8 GW of thin-film panels in March, already is using First Solar's technology for its 100-MW Sonrisa Solar Park in Mendota, California, which is expected to finish construction in first-quarter 2024. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Energix US LLC (Arlington, Virginia), the U.S. subsidiary of Energix, is using First Solar's technology for two of its projects under construction: the 66-MW Axton Solar Plant in Axton, Virginia, and the 15-MW Apple Grove Solar Plant in Mineral, Virginia. The projects are expected to wrap up in first-quarter 2024 and fourth-quarter 2023, respectively. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's detailed reports on the Axton and Apple Grove projects.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed reports for solar-generation projects nearing or under construction across the U.S. that will use, or are considering using, First Solar's panels.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).