First Solar turns on 3.5 GW of module production capacity at Alabama plant

First Solar inaugurated its new $1.1 billion fully vertically integrated thin-film solar manufacturing facility in Lawrence County, Alabama. The facility, which adds 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of fully vertically integrated nameplate solar manufacturing capacity in the United States, is expected to create over 800 new energy technology manufacturing jobs in the state.
“This represents a great day for First Solar and for Lawrence County because this production facility is destined to become a major player in the US renewable energy market,” said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. “Moreover, the Alabama workers at this facility will help break the nation’s dependence on foreign-made solar panels and contribute to our energy independence.”
The Lawrence County facility is producing Series 7 modules, and will use Alabama-sourced steel, smelted, rolled, and fabricated within a 25-mile radius of the facility by OMCO Solar.
First Solar’s manufacturing process allows it to transform a sheet of glass into ready-to-ship thin film solar panels in approximately four hours. The Alabama facility’s entire solar value chain – equivalent to transformation from semiconductor to wafer to cell to module – operates under one roof, using one tightly controlled process with rigorous quality assurance and control.
First Solar capacity outlook
The Lawrence County facility along with First Solar’s three operating factories in Ohio brings the company’s domestic nameplate manufacturing capacity to almost 11 GW and its global capacity to over 21 GW, once fully ramped.
First Solar is also constructing a 3.5 GW facility in Louisiana, which is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2025. The company expects to have over 14 GW of annual nameplate capacity in the United States and 25 GW globally by the end of 2026.
A study commissioned by First Solar and conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that as the company grows to 14 GW in annual US nameplate capacity by the end of 2026, it will support an estimated 30,060 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, representing $2.8 billion in annual labor income. Additionally, the study estimates that every direct job First Solar supports in 2026 will support 7.3 jobs nationwide.
Comments are closed here.