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Released February 29, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After seeing a jump in net sales for the fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) is projecting capital investment of between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion for 2024 as the company builds out its solar panel-manufacturing and research & development (R&D) facilities.
"Despite industry macro challenges, such as global oversupply and pricing volatility, we continue to see strong mid- to long-term demand, especially in the United States," said Mark Widmar, the chief executive officer of First Solar, in an earnings-related conference call.
Also on the call, Chief Financial Officer Alex Bradley said capital expenditures (capex) were $1.4 billion in 2023, compared to $0.9 billion in 2022.
Bradley said 2024 capex is expected to range from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, as First Solar progresses with the construction of its $1.1 billion grassroot thin-film solar panel-manufacturing plant in Trinity, Alabama and $1.1 billion grassroot solar panel-manufacturing plant in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. About two-thirds of 2024 capex is related to capacity expansion, Bradley said, with one-fourth related to "R&D (research and development) center and technology replication with the remainder mostly related to maintenance and logistics."
The Louisiana plant is designed to exclusively manufacture the company's utility-scale Series 7 photovoltaic (PV) panels, which have stronger generation and longer lifetimes than previous models. First Solar expects commercial shipments to begin in late 2025; the plant will add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) to the company's manufacturing capacity. The Alabama plant will produce another 3.5 GW worth of thin-film panels per year, with construction expected to wrap up in 2025.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read detailed information on the Louisiana and Alabama projects.
First Solar manufactured a record 12.1 GW worth of panels in 2023, up 33% from 2022. "When combined with our Alabama facility and our Ohio manufacturing footprint expansions, both of which are in progress, we expect a 2026 year-end nameplate capacity of approximately 14 gigawatts domestically with another 11 gigawatts internationally for a global nameplate capacity of approximately 25 gigawatts," Widmar said on the call.
The company expects construction of two Ohio projects will wrap up later in the year, with commercial shipments expected to begin in the second half: a new manufacturing and R&D facility in Perrysburg, and an expansion at its Series 7 manufacturing plant in Walbridge. Subscribers can read more information in the Perrysburg and Walbridge project reports.
First Solar announced in January it acquired a former Peloton factory in Ohio to be repurposed into a new distribution center, which could support its operations in the state. Click here to read more information on the related project, which is tentatively expected to kick off in July and wrap up in early 2025.
First Solar's 2023 net income of $831 million compared to a loss of $464 million for 2022--and net sales for 2023 jumped 27% to $3.3 billion from $2.6 billion in 2022--due to higher module volumes sold and average selling prices, the company said.
Industrial Info is tracking nearly $3 billion worth of active projects from First Solar. Subscribers can click here to see a full list.
The company's buildout of its U.S. panel-manufacturing capacity will help supply Industrial Info's current analysis of $16 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. Click here for a full list.
This includes Core Solar LLC's (Austin, Texas) $700 million Hills Solar plant in Hill County, Texas, south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The plant will utilize an estimated 964,900 of First Solar's Series 6 panels to produce 400 megawatts (MW) of solar power. Construction is expected to wrap up in July. Also underway is construction of Invenergy's (Chicago, Illinois) $400 million Fairbanks solar plant in Indiana, which will utilize roughly 580,000 PV panels on a single-axis tracking system for 250 MW of solar generation.
Subscribers can read reports on the Texas and Indiana projects.
For more information on First Solar's efforts to supply solar project developers in the U.S., see September 25, 2023, article - First Solar's New Panel Manufacturing Facility Breaks Ground.
Subscribers to the GMI 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 plant profiles.
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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
"Despite industry macro challenges, such as global oversupply and pricing volatility, we continue to see strong mid- to long-term demand, especially in the United States," said Mark Widmar, the chief executive officer of First Solar, in an earnings-related conference call.
Also on the call, Chief Financial Officer Alex Bradley said capital expenditures (capex) were $1.4 billion in 2023, compared to $0.9 billion in 2022.
Bradley said 2024 capex is expected to range from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, as First Solar progresses with the construction of its $1.1 billion grassroot thin-film solar panel-manufacturing plant in Trinity, Alabama and $1.1 billion grassroot solar panel-manufacturing plant in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. About two-thirds of 2024 capex is related to capacity expansion, Bradley said, with one-fourth related to "R&D (research and development) center and technology replication with the remainder mostly related to maintenance and logistics."
The Louisiana plant is designed to exclusively manufacture the company's utility-scale Series 7 photovoltaic (PV) panels, which have stronger generation and longer lifetimes than previous models. First Solar expects commercial shipments to begin in late 2025; the plant will add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) to the company's manufacturing capacity. The Alabama plant will produce another 3.5 GW worth of thin-film panels per year, with construction expected to wrap up in 2025.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read detailed information on the Louisiana and Alabama projects.
First Solar manufactured a record 12.1 GW worth of panels in 2023, up 33% from 2022. "When combined with our Alabama facility and our Ohio manufacturing footprint expansions, both of which are in progress, we expect a 2026 year-end nameplate capacity of approximately 14 gigawatts domestically with another 11 gigawatts internationally for a global nameplate capacity of approximately 25 gigawatts," Widmar said on the call.
The company expects construction of two Ohio projects will wrap up later in the year, with commercial shipments expected to begin in the second half: a new manufacturing and R&D facility in Perrysburg, and an expansion at its Series 7 manufacturing plant in Walbridge. Subscribers can read more information in the Perrysburg and Walbridge project reports.
First Solar announced in January it acquired a former Peloton factory in Ohio to be repurposed into a new distribution center, which could support its operations in the state. Click here to read more information on the related project, which is tentatively expected to kick off in July and wrap up in early 2025.
First Solar's 2023 net income of $831 million compared to a loss of $464 million for 2022--and net sales for 2023 jumped 27% to $3.3 billion from $2.6 billion in 2022--due to higher module volumes sold and average selling prices, the company said.
Industrial Info is tracking nearly $3 billion worth of active projects from First Solar. Subscribers can click here to see a full list.
The company's buildout of its U.S. panel-manufacturing capacity will help supply Industrial Info's current analysis of $16 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. Click here for a full list.
This includes Core Solar LLC's (Austin, Texas) $700 million Hills Solar plant in Hill County, Texas, south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The plant will utilize an estimated 964,900 of First Solar's Series 6 panels to produce 400 megawatts (MW) of solar power. Construction is expected to wrap up in July. Also underway is construction of Invenergy's (Chicago, Illinois) $400 million Fairbanks solar plant in Indiana, which will utilize roughly 580,000 PV panels on a single-axis tracking system for 250 MW of solar generation.
Subscribers can read reports on the Texas and Indiana projects.
For more information on First Solar's efforts to supply solar project developers in the U.S., see September 25, 2023, article - First Solar's New Panel Manufacturing Facility Breaks Ground.
Subscribers to the GMI 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 plant profiles.
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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
