merelygifted:

The largest American solar panel maker pledges to build $1B factory in US Southeast

First Solar, the largest American solar panel maker, today announced that it will invest up to $1.2 billion to ramp up production of US-made solar panels. The announcement follows the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act two weeks ago, which incentivizes domestic clean energy manufacturing.

First Solar’s new factory will be its fourth in the US. The company says the factory will be fully vertically integrated, have an annual capacity of 3.5 gigawatts (GWdc), and will be sited somewhere in the US Southeast. It’s expected to commence operations in 2025.

The Tempe, Arizona-headquartered company is the only US-headquartered company among the world’s 10 largest solar manufacturers.

The new investment is forecast to expand First Solar’s ability to produce US-made solar modules for the domestic solar market to more than 10 GWdc by 2025.  …