ENB Pub Note: Tammy Nemeth, author and podcast host, brought out a great point in this article. At what cost can we place on the printing of money and the subsidies? It would seem that the additional cost of the dept to the US deficit and printing of money for subsidies would negate any positive benefits. What are your thoughts?
First Solar, Inc. commissioned an economic analysis of the vertically integrated solar manufacturer’s value chain in the United States. The company is unique in the U.S. solar manufacturing landscape because it offers vertically integrated solar manufacturing facilities capable of production across the entire supply chain.
The study, conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, analyzed First Solar’s actual and forecast U.S. spending in 2023 and 2026 when the company expects to have 14 GW of annual nameplate capacity across Alabama, Louisiana and Ohio.
Manufacturing
First Solar produces thin film solar modules in a single process that allows the company to transform a sheet of glass into a fully functional solar panel in approximately four hours. At the end of 2023, First Solar had over 6 GW of operational manufacturing capacity in the U.S., and that figure will grow as new facilities become operational.
In addition to expanding its Ohio footprint to over 7 GW of annual nameplate capacity in 2024, the company expects to invest over $2 billion in new manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, which are expected to come online in 2024 and 2026, respectively. First Solar is also investing up to $450 million in R&D infrastructure in Perrysburg, Ohio, expected to be operational in 2024.
Between 2016 and 2026, First Solar expects to have invested approximately $4 billion in manufacturing and research and development infrastructure in the U.S.
Jobs
The study found that in 2023 First Solar supported an estimated 16,245 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, representing $1.59 billion in annual labor income.
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