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					</table><p>U.S.-based solar module manufacturer <a href="https://www.firstsolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First Solar</a> has announced an investment of $1.2 billion to scale the production of American-made, responsibly-produced photovoltaic (PV) solar modules totaling 4.4 GW, to support the country’s transition to decarbonization until 2025.</p>
<p>The company is set to build its fourth, fully vertically integrated domestic factory, with an annual capacity of 3.5 GW in the southwest U.S. It targets allocating $1 billion to the new factory. The new unit will be operational by 2025.</p>
<p>The company will invest $185 million to upgrade and expand its production footprint in Northwest Ohio, which is deemed the largest vertically integrated complex of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, with a capacity of 0.9 GW.</p>
<p>First Solar started the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/first-solar-begins-construction-module-facility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">construction</a> of its 3.3 GW module manufacturing factory in Ohio in August 2021, which will be operational by the first half of 2023. The factory would scale the company’s Northwest Ohio footprint to a cumulative annual capacity of 6 GW.</p>
<p>The company said it would also invest in expanding the capacity of its two operational facilities in Perrysburg and Lake Township, Ohio, by 0.6 GW to 3.6 GW of annual Series 6 module capacity. The company’s third Ohio factory, likely to be commissioned in the first half of 2023, will have 3.5 GW of annual Series 7 module capacity.</p>
<p>First Solar’s overall investment in its Ohio manufacturing units will reach over $3 billion, with a cumulative annual production capacity of more than 7 GW in the next three years.</p>
<p>First Solar’s CEO Mark Widmar said, “This investment is an important step towards achieving self-sufficiency in solar technology, which, in turn, supports America’s energy security ambitions, its deployment of solar at scale, and its ability to lead with innovation. We are proud of the fact that our manufacturing presence in the U.S. is expected to, directly and indirectly, support over 18,000 jobs across the country by 2025, while our manufacturing investment will add an estimated $3.2 billion in value to the U.S .economy, reflecting the impact of solar manufacturing on our country.”</p>
<p>Apart from Ohio, the U.S.-based module maker operates factories in Vietnam and Malaysia. It is <a href="https://mercomindia.com/first-solar-module-manufacturing-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">building</a> the company’s first manufacturing unit in India, which will begin operations by the second half of the next financial year.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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First Solar to Invest $1.2 Billion to Scale Production of US-Made Solar PV Modules

<p>U.S.-based solar modules manufacturer <a href="https://www.firstsolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First Solar</a> has commenced the construction of a 3.3 GW module manufacturing facility in Ohio.</p>
<p>The facility will cost $680 million and is scheduled for operations in the first half of 2023. When fully operational, the facility is expected to scale the company’s Northwest Ohio footprint to a total annual capacity of 6 GWdc.</p>
<p>The facility is likely to create over 700 permanent jobs and 500 construction jobs. First Solar has invested over $2 billion in expanding its Ohio manufacturing presence.</p>
<p>First Solar claims it is unique among the world’s ten largest solar manufacturers for being the only U.S.-headquartered company, which uses Cadmium Telluride semiconductor instead of crystalline silicon semiconductor.</p>
<p>First Solar is expected to produce an anticipated average of one module roughly every 2.75 seconds across its three-factory Ohio footprint once it achieves its full production capacity. The facility is also claimed to combine highly skilled workers with Industry 4.0 architecture, machine-to-machine communication, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things connectivity to produce a higher degree of automation, precision, and continuous improvement.</p>
<p>“Today, we’re leading the efforts to revitalize American solar manufacturing and secure critical clean energy supply chains because reliable access to competitive, efficient solar panels is essential to our country’s future. Solar panels are the next crude oil, and we cannot be beholden to adversarial nations for our supply,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar.</p>
<p>“First Solar’s new factory in Ohio is a model of President Biden’s vision for keeping America competitive by investing in clean energy and creating good jobs,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, who was present at the groundbreaking ceremony.</p>
<p>The 1.8 million square foot facility is expected to produce an enhanced thin-film PV module for the utility-scale solar market in the US, which is anticipated to have higher efficiency and wattage in a larger form factor. Rudolph Libbe, Inc, will construct the new facility.</p>
<p>First Solar recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/first-solar-module-manufacturing-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would invest $684 million to set up a new, vertically integrated photovoltaic thin-film solar module manufacturing facility in India.</p>
<p>According to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercom-india-solar-market-leaderboard-2021-market-shares-profiles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India Solar Market Leaderboard 2021</a>, First Solar has supplied a total of 1.94 GW of solar modules to projects in India to date. India is the second-largest market for the company after North America.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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First Solar Begins Construction of 3.3 GW Module Manufacturing Facility in Ohio

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