- Gaffney, South Carolina, selected for new 3.7 GW facility; expected to create over 600 new jobs
- Facility expands First Solar's US capital investment to approximately $4.5 billion
- Largest American solar manufacturer expects almost 18 GW of domestic production capacity in 2027
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) (the "Company" or "First Solar") today announced that it will establish a new facility in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina, to onshore final production processes for Series 6 Plus modules initiated by the Company's international fleet. The Company expects to spend approximately $330 million to establish the new facility, which is scheduled to commence commercial operations in the second half of 2026. The facility is forecast to create over 600 new jobs with an average manufacturing salary of $74,000 per year, approximately twice the per capita income in Cherokee County.
The South Carolina facility — which will directly support American energy dominance and affordability goals — was catalyzed by demand for domestically-produced energy technology created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump in July 2025. The facility is expected to increase First Solar's capacity to produce American-made solar technology that is fully compliant with anticipated Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) guidance, by 3.7 gigawatts (GW), reaching 17.7 GW of annual nameplate capacity in 2027.
"South Carolina is proud to be a destination for innovative energy companies that are powering our country with American technology," said Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina. "First Solar's investment will create 600 new jobs in Cherokee County, which will greatly strengthen the local economy and help advance America's energy independence. Their expanded presence in our state will provide even more opportunities for hardworking South Carolinians."
The onshored processes will transform thin film solar cells produced by First Solar's international fleet into fully completed modules. The new facility expands First Solar's footprint in South Carolina, which currently includes a distribution center in Duncan, Spartanburg County, and a longstanding partnership with Inland Port Greer. The Gaffney plant will be part of what is already the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere and includes three fully vertically integrated manufacturing facilities in Ohio, and one each in Alabama and Louisiana, along with R&D centers in Ohio and California. Altogether, the Company, which expects to directly employ over 5,500 people in the US by the end of 2026, will have invested approximately $4.5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019.
"The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Administration's trade policies boosted demand for American energy technology, requiring a timely, agile response that allows us to meet the moment," said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. "We expect that this new facility will enable us to serve the US market with technology that is compliant with the Act's stringent provisions, within timelines that align with our customers' objectives."
Having manufactured in the US since 2002, First Solar is the country's leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. It is the only one of the world's largest solar manufacturers to be headquartered in the US. By 2027, the Company expects to support over 30,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, estimated to represent more than $3 billion in labor income.
About First Solar, Inc.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is America's leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. The only US-headquartered company among the world's largest solar manufacturers, First Solar is focused on competitively and reliably enabling power generation needs with its advanced, uniquely American thin film PV technology. Developed at research and development (R&D) labs in California and Ohio, the Company's technology represents the next generation of solar power generation, providing a competitive, high-performance, and responsibly produced alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV modules. For more information, please visit www.firstsolar.com.
For First Solar Investors
This press release contains various "forward-looking statements" which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: (i) plans to establish a new production facility in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina, to onshore final production processes for Series 6 modules initiated by the Company's international fleet; (ii) expectations that the Company will spend approximately $330 million in establishing the new facility; that the facility will commence commercial operations in the second half of 2026, and create over 600 new jobs; (iii) expectations that the facility will have an annual nameplate capacity of 3.7 gigawatts and that this capacity will be fully compliant with anticipated Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) guidance; and (iv) our expectation that First Solar will directly employ over 5,500 people in the US by the end of 2026, supporting over 30,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, representing more than $3 billion in labor income. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as "estimate," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "intend," "seek," "believe," "forecast," "foresee," "likely," "may," "should," "goal," "target," "might," "will," "could," "predict," "continue" and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on First Solar's current expectations and First Solar's projections about future events and therefore speak only as of the date of this release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. First Solar undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause First Solar's actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the transaction; the risk that the parties may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the transaction in a timely manner or at all; and the matters discussed under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as supplemented by our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release contains references to data and information generated by an economic study conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The economic study is based on numerous assumptions, estimates and other data as more fully described in the report summarizing the study's findings, which is available at www.firstsolar.com/USeconomy.
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First Solar Media
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