First Solar: Investing in America since 1999.
Founded in Ohio, First Solar has grown its manufacturing footprint in the United States from an initial $9.3 million investment in a 74,000 square-foot facility in Perrysburg that created 50 jobs in 1999, to an expected $4 billion in cumulative investment, 6.5 million square feet of manufacturing space, and over 4,000 direct jobs in four states by 2026.
First Solar’s long history of investment in America spans an R&D center in California and three factories in Ohio, which made it the largest solar manufacturing footprint in the Western Hemisphere.
The company’s newest Ohio facility commenced operations in the first half of 2023 with an annual planned capacity of 3.5 (GW)DC by 2025.
A fourth US factory was inaugurated in 2024 in Trinity, Alabama, which is expected to result in the capacity to produce over 10 gigawatts (GW)DC of responsibly produced advanced thin film photovoltaic (PV) solar panels annually for the United States by 2025. A fifth factory is planned to commence operations in 2026 in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, with an expected capacity of 3.5 (GW)DC, bringing First Solar’s total US capacity to approximately 14 (GW)DC.
First Solar’s American manufacturing facilities represent some of the most advanced of their kind in the solar industry, combining 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.
A differentiated manufacturing process.
Using a thin film semiconductor rather than crystalline silicon, First Solar’s fully integrated, continuous process enables full quality control under one roof, converting a sheet of glass into a fully functional solar panel in approximately 4 hours. In contrast, competitor technologies utilize three or four factories to process their raw materials into a fully functioning solar panel across several days.
First Solar’s proven, highly repeatable vertically integrated manufacturing template has allowed it to expand globally, establishing manufacturing sites in India, Malaysia, and Vietnam, all of which use the manufacturing process developed and advanced in Ohio.
First Solar’s manufacturing process uses 98 percent less semiconductor material than traditional crystalline silicon solar panels and yields the lowest carbon footprint and fastest energy payback time in the industry. Every year, First Solar products displace more than seven times the amount of greenhouse gas emitted through its global operations and supply chain. Learn more about First Solar’s manufacturing process.
Building a resilient, responsible supply chain.
First Solar’s vertically integrated manufacturing means its streamlined bill of materials can be transformed into PV modules in a single process, all under one roof. That makes its supply chain among the most traceable and transparent in the industry.
First Solar’s investment in American manufacturing has led to it sourcing the majority of the bill of materials for its Series 6 products from US suppliers, and 100% American glass and steel for its Series 7 modules. These investments in sourcing glass and steel from Ohio, Alabama, and Pennsylvania have resulted in supplier investments in capacity expansion to support First Solar’s demand. These suppliers, in turn, are supported by supplementary supply chains – for instance, the glass produced in Ohio uses sand mined in Michigan and soda ash from Wyoming.
Furthermore, First Solar’s manufacturing operations and supply chains are governed by its commitment to Responsible Solar. Its Ohio manufacturing facilities were twice awarded the Platinum rating by the Responsible Business Alliance in their intensive Validated Assessment Program (VAP) operations audit. The full scope of the VAP includes fair labor practices and human rights, health and safety measures, environmental performance, business integrity, ethics, and supporting management systems. The audit’s standards extend to the vetting of First Solar’s suppliers as well. Learn more about the RBA audit.
Leading the industry with responsible recycling technology.
First Solar’s state-of-the-art recycling processing centers in Ohio, Alabama, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam are co-located with its manufacturing facilities. In 2023, First Solar’s global recycling facilities had a designed annual recycling capacity of 88,000 metric tons (or ~2.6 million modules) and it expects to grow its global designed recycling capacity to 136,000 metric tons by the end of 2026. Its proven recycling process achieves high reuse rates of more than 90 percent of glass and allows for closed-loop semiconductor recovery for use in new modules. Learn more about First Solar’s recycling program.
First Solar Manufacturing by the Numbers
>14 GW DC Total US annual capacity
expected in 2026
1.6 secondsRate at which First Solar expects to produce an
American-made solar module in 2026
>4,000Expected number of direct employees
in 5 states by 2026
79Approximate number of components
to make each module
29Approximate number of suppliers
that support manufacturing operations
90%The amount of semiconductor material and glass
that is recovered in First Solar recycling
