First Solar has held the grand-opening of its new 3.5-GW solar panel manufacturing facility in Lawrence County, Alabama. The $1.1 billion fully vertically integrated thin-film solar manufacturing facility is First Solar’s first U.S. factory outside of Ohio. Once ramped to full capacity, the site should support 800 jobs.
“This is the first of two fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing facilities that solidify the role of the Gulf Coast states in enabling America’s all-of-the-above energy strategy,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “This energy technology manufacturing facility produces American solar panels, with American-made components sourced from a supply chain that spans the country. The hundreds of people that operate this facility represent the next generation of American energy workers and are joined by thousands more steelworkers, glassworkers, miners, truck drivers, railroad workers, and others that enable our mission to support our country’s energy security.”
The Alabama facility along with First Solar’s three operating factories in Ohio brings the company’s total domestic nameplate manufacturing capacity to almost 11 GW, and its global capacity to over 21 GW. First Solar is also constructing a twin $1.1 billion, 3.5-GW facility in Louisiana, which is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2025. This will bring the company’s total domestic manufacturing capacity to over 14 GW.
First Solar’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film manufacturing process allows it to transform a sheet of glass into a fully formed solar panel in approximately four hours all under one roof. The Series 7 solar modules produced in Alabama use Alabama-sourced steel that is fabricated with 25 miles of the facility.
