First Solar sells US$850 million 45X manufacturing credits

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
first solar manufacturing
The manufacturer agreed two separate tax credit transfer deals with an unnamed third party for a price of US$0.955 per US$1 of tax credits. Image: First Solar

US cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film module producer First Solar has sold US$857 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) transferable tax credits generated from its solar module manufacturing operations.

The credits are Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production tax credits which First Solar generated from selling its PV modules from manufacturing bases in Ohio and Arizona.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The manufacturer agreed two separate tax credit transfer deals with an unnamed third party for a price of US$0.955 per US$1 of tax credits. At the final closure of the second deal, which First Solar expects on 28 February, it said it will pocket around US$819 million in gross cash proceeds.

First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said the deal “Is a case of the Section 45X tax credits working exactly as they were intended”.

“The value of the tax credits is directly tied to the volume of solar panels produced at our facilities in Ohio and Alabama for deployment in power generation projects across America, the highest volume we’ve produced in the US since we began manufacturing in 2002.”

The company inaugurated a 3.5GW module production facility in Alabama last December, shortly before it revised down its end-of-year forecast thanks to market uncertainty.

Alex Bradley, First Solar CFO said: “This transaction strengthens our balance sheet even as we continue to invest in our US manufacturing capacity and research and development infrastructure, which are crucial to our growth. As it relates to the 2024 financial year, we expect a pre-tax impact to earnings of approximately US$39 million and a post-tax impact to earnings of approximately US$45 million. This is expected to reduce our diluted earnings by approximately US$0.42 per share for the year.”

Selling IRA tax credits is facilitated under the Transferability provision, which was introduced to widen the scope of potential tax credit beneficiaries and facilitate greater expansions of clean energy manufacturing and deployment projects by allowing companies to sell their credits for cash.

However, the future of IRA tax credits is somewhat uncertain following the inauguration of president Donald Trump. A day-one executive order paused the dispersal of certain IRA-related funds and various provisions – like the Domestic Content Tax Bonus for solar deployments – may be subject to changes or early sunsets.

Prior to the inauguration, a bipartisan group of US Attorneys General called for the IRA to be protected, specifically the 45X Advanced Manufacturing credit, thanks to the jobs and investment it has brought to many US states.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
US solar module prices jumped in Q3 2025 as developers scrambled to meet the 2 September 2025 safe harbour deadline for Investment Tax Credit (ITC) qualification, according to supply chain platform Anza.
October 8, 2025
Despite policy headwinds on the federal level, there is optimism for the future of the US solar and storage sector.
Premium
October 8, 2025
PV Talk: Smart Energy Council's Nigel Morris reflects on how Australia has become a global testbed for distributed solar and storage innovation.
October 8, 2025
Officials from Norway and Egypt have agreed provisional terms for the financing of the Dandara solar park in Egypt, which is being built and operated by Norwegian IPP Scatec.
October 8, 2025
Saatvik Green Energy has secured new solar PV module orders worth more than INR7 billion (US$84 million), to be delivered in this financial year.
October 8, 2025
Australia's NEM achieved a new minimum operational demand record of 9,666MW, marking a 4% decrease from the previous record.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK