It’s a sign of the times: the site of a former General Motors vehicle testing facility will soon house a manufacturing plant dedicated to making clean-energy-producing solar panels.
First Solar, the Tempe, Arizona-based maker of advanced thin-film solar modules, today announced it will build a its new U.S. manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona. The company will invest about $300 million in the facility and, in so doing, create some 600 jobs.
First Solar President, Bruce Sohn, took care to acknowledge that government incentives have played a key role in promoting growth in the renewable energy sector:
“Supportive state and federal policies have provided the visibility needed for the U.S. to become our fastest-growing market, and the Mesa factory will enable us to meet that growing demand. Programs such as Department of Energy loan guarantees and the solar investment tax credit are crucial to helping the renewable energy industry quickly reach the scale needed to compete with fossil fuels. Over the long-term, programs like these facilitate the market growth and investment that will support the future expansion of this factory.”
First Solar is looked to as a price leader, and has long had the industry’s lowest per-watt manufacturing cost. An influx of cheaply produced polysilicon-based panels — mainly from China — is however challenging First Solar’s claim to the top spot. The company recently expanded production at its solar panel manufacturing plant in Perrysburg, Ohio. When the Mesa plant comes on line in 2012, output is expected to increase to over 500 megawatts (MW) a year.
First Solar’s CEO Rob Gillette (left) and President Bruce Sohn (second from left) announce the company’s new plant in Mesa, Ariz., with Governor Jan Brewer and other government officials.
Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, has in recent years worked to attract clean-energy companies — particularly solar-panel manufacturers — to the state. In her remarks today, she echoed Sohn’s sentiments, highlighting supportive programs Arizona has enacted at the state level.
“First Solar’s presence in Arizona has been a great engine in driving our renewable energy sector forward. And now its plans for a 135-acre technology campus — with 600 quality jobs and the potential for hundreds more — will propel Arizona into its second century, while promoting the Arizona Commerce Authority’s plan for business attraction, retention and expansion. We are grateful that First Solar’s leadership has confidence in my Cornerstones of Reform — including the Arizona Competitiveness Package.”
For more information, see First Solar’s website.
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