The US’s largest solar panel maker debuts its $1B Alabama factory

First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) inaugurated its new $1.1 billion fully vertically integrated thin-film solar factory in Lawrence County, Alabama. 

The factory adds 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of fully vertically integrated nameplate solar manufacturing capacity to the US, and it’s expected to create over 800 jobs. The project was first announced in November 2022 following the passing of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.

First Solar’s unique selling point is that it’s a fully vertically integrated manufacturer of thin-film PV solar panels. This means they can turn a sheet of glass into a functional solar panel in about four hours, relying heavily on US-sourced materials like glass and steel, the latter of which is being sourced within a 25-mile radius of the new factory.

“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 Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL).

The Lawrence County factory, 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 online.

First Solar is also constructing a $1.1 billion, 3.5 GW factory 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 US and 25 GW globally by the end of 2026.

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