Lawrence County Solar Project to be constructed in same county as First Solar’s new US manufacturing facility

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) today announced that it has secured 279 megawatts of advanced thin film solar panels from First Solar for its planned Lawrence County Solar Project in Lawrence County, Alabama, which is expected to commence commercial operation in 2027. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has secured 279 megawatts (MWDC) of advanced thin film solar panels from First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) for its planned Lawrence County Solar Project in Lawrence County, Alabama, which is expected to commence commercial operation in 2027. The project reflects TVA’s growing emphasis on solar in the region, which, by 2025, is also expected to become the home of one of the largest fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing facilities in the United States, when Arizona-headquartered First Solar commissions its fourth American factory.

“TVA remains committed to investing in the energy system of the future for the benefit of the people of the Tennessee Valley that we serve and are pleased to work with First Solar,” said Roger Waldrep, vice president, TVA Major Projects. “Through our work with First Solar, TVA will continue to integrate more renewable generation into our overall portfolio with solar technology developed and manufactured in America.”

First Solar is investing approximately $1.3 billion in expanding its US manufacturing footprint from over 6.5 gigawatts (GWDC) of annual nameplate capacity currently, to approximately 10.9 GWDC by 2026. In addition to the $1.1 billion being invested in the new 3.5 GWDC Lawrence County facility, the company has also embarked on a $185 million expansion of its existing manufacturing footprint in Ohio. First Solar, the largest solar manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere, also announced an investment of up to $370 million for a dedicated research and development (R&D) innovation center in Perrysburg, Ohio, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

“As America’s Solar Company, we’re pleased that our technology will power the Lawrence County Solar Project,” said Georges Antoun, chief commercial officer, First Solar. “As we scale our manufacturing footprint and supply chains, it is vital that the communities we operate in benefit from our creation of jobs, economic value, and clean electricity produced by our solar technology.”

Designed and developed at its R&D centers in California and Ohio, First Solar’s advanced thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules set industry benchmarks for quality, durability, reliability, design, and environmental performance. The modules have the lowest carbon and water footprint of any commercially available PV technology today.

First Solar’s differentiated thin film semiconductor, integrated manufacturing process and tightly controlled supply chain helps eliminate the risk of exposure to solar supply chains identified by the US Department of Labor’s 2022 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor as being tainted by forced labor. First Solar is the only company among the ten largest solar manufacturers globally that is a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the world’s largest industry coalition dedicated to supporting the rights and well-being of workers and communities in the global supply chain. The company is also the first PV manufacturer to have its product included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) global registry for sustainable electronics.