Inflation Reduction Act drives domestic manufacturing: First Solar announces fifth U.S. factory

First Solar, the United States’ largest manufacturer of solar panels, revealed its plans on Thursday to construct a fifth factory in response to the growing domestic manufacturing trend fuelled by the Inflation Reduction Act.

The company is prepared to invest up to $1.1 billion in this new factory, although the specific location has yet to be determined.

This new facility will enhance First Solar’s manufacturing capacity by 3.5 gigawatts, bringing it to a total of 14 GW in the United States by 2026, which is the anticipated year of its launch.

In addition to today’s announcement, First Solar has already invested $2.8 billion in expanding its production capabilities over the past year. This includes the establishment of a new site in Alabama and the expansion of existing facilities in Ohio. However, despite these efforts, First Solar has been unable to meet the surging demand and disclosed in April that it had sold out its capacity through 2026.

Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act almost a year ago, there has been an influx of clean energy factory announcements and more than $150 billion in capital investments, as estimated by American Clean Power.

President Biden stated on Thursday that alongside other initiatives in the clean energy sector, First Solar’s announcement signifies that “the era of America ceding leadership to our adversaries in clean energy is over.”