First Solar 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 panel manufacturing facility is First Solar’s first U.S. factory outside of Ohio. Once at full capacity the site could support 800 jobs.
“This is the first of two fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing facilities that strengthen the role of the Gulf Coast states in enabling America’s comprehensive energy strategy,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “This energy technology manufacturing facility produces American-made solar panels, with American-made components sourced from a supply chain that spans the country. The hundreds of people who operate this facility represent the next generation of America’s energy workers and are joined by thousands of steelworkers, glassworkers, miners, truck drivers, railroad workers and others who make possible our mission to support our nation’s energy security.
The Alabama facility, together with First Solar’s three operating plants in Ohio, brings the company’s total domestic manufacturing capacity to nearly 11 GW, and global capacity to more than 21 GW. First Solar is also building a $1.1 billion, 3.5 GW dual plant in Louisiana that is expected to come online in the second half of 2025. This will bring the company’s total domestic production capacity to over 14 GW.
First Solar’s thin-film manufacturing process using cadmium telluride (CdTe) can transform a sheet of glass into a fully formed solar panel in about four hours, all under one roof. The Alabama-made Series 7 solar modules use Alabama steel that is manufactured 25 miles from the facility.
