Tempe, Arizona based industry leader First Solar, Inc. has announced plans to build two new manufacturing plants. This will boost the company’s annual manufacturing capacity by nearly 500 MW to help meet strong demand for its advanced thin-film photovoltaic modules. First Solar manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor technology and provides comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) system solutions. The benefits of thin film photovoltaic technology over silicon is that they are generally less expensive to produce, can be produced much faster than silicon, they are thinner and more easier incorporated into building materials, paints, and fabrics.
The new plants announced today, combined with these previously announced expansions, will nearly double production capacity from 1.4 GW in 2010 to more than 2.7 GW in 2012. The plants are expected to be built in the United States and Vietnam and completed in 2012. Each new plant will create approximately 600 green jobs and will be designed to accommodate additional production capacity. Negotiations and site assessments are ongoing in both countries and will be finalized and announced at a later date.
“These expansions provide proximity to growing U.S. demand while supporting our roadmap to drive down the cost of clean, sustainable solar electricity,” said First Solar CEO Rob Gillette.”Effective government policies provide long-term visibility and enable sustainable markets.” In addition to the increase in manufacturing employment, First Solar expects to generate over 1,000 construction jobs through the installation of solar power plants from the company’s 2.2 GW North American project pipeline.
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