MONTGOMERY, AL—First Solar Inc. has opened its new $1.1 billion, vertically integrated thin-film solar panel assembly plant here. 

Volvo Cars has been producing gas-powered vehicles in Ridgeville, SC, since 2018. Now, the factory is assembling two new electric SUVs: the Volvo EX90 and the Polestar 3.

GREENVILLE, NC—Vietnamese solar manufacturer Boviet Solar will invest $294 million to build its first North American assembly plant here.

The growth is being driven by a U.S. policy push to boost domestic clean-energy manufacturing, by global supply chain risk, and by the total cost of ownership (TCO) equation.

ALBUQUERQUE—Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd. is investing more than $1 billion to build a new 3-gigawatt (GW) solar panel assembly plant here, its first expansion into the United States.

TEMPE, AZ—First Solar Inc. is investing up to $1.1 billion to construct its fifth manufacturing facility in the USA, further expanding America’s capacity to produce its own photovoltaic (PV) solar modules.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide $10 billion in funding through the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C). The notice released June 5 allocates up to $4 billion to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and ensure no community is left behind in the transition to clean energy technologies.   

CARTERSVILLE, GA—South Korean solar energy company Qcells will invest $2.5 billion to expand its manufacturing capacity in the United States, creating as many as 2,500 jobs in Georgia.

Every day in more than 45 countries, photovoltaic modules designed and manufactured by First Solar go to work converting sunlight into clean, reliable electricity. First Solar is the only American company ranked among the world’s top 10 solar manufacturers. The company’s headquarters is in Tempe, AZ, but its roots are in Ohio, where it operates the largest solar manufacturing footprint in the Western Hemisphere. More than half of First Solar’s 2,700 U.S. employees are located in Ohio.

FLORENCE, AL—First Solar Inc. has selected Alabama as the site of a more than $1 billion factory that will assemble solar modules.