Thin-film solar PV manufacturer First Solar has confirmed the Louisiana location of its fifth US manufacturing facility, a 3.5GW, US$1.1 billion dollar Cadmium Telluride (CadTel) module production factory.
Acadiana Regional Airport in Iberia Parish, Louisiana will play host to the new facility, which is expected to be online and producing First Solar’s Series 7 modules in the first half of 2026. By then, First Solar said that it expects Series 7 products to make up over two thirds of its domestic nameplate capacity, which it anticipates to be around 14GW.
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The plans for the facility and the accompanying US$1.1 billion investment were first announced in July and follows its plans for facilities in Alabama and Ohio. This new facility will create some 700 new manufacturing jobs, First Solar said.
Mark Widmar, chief executive officer at First Solar said: “In bringing our unique, fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing model to Louisiana, we expect the plant to mirror the commitment to Responsible Solar evident at every First Solar manufacturing facility, which are among the cleanest, safest, and most diverse in the industry.
“We are pleased to partner with Louisiana as we lean into our commitment to creating enduring value for America by expanding our solar manufacturing footprint and the domestic value chains that enable it.”
In its press release for the confirmed location, First Solar said that its Series 7 modules are “expected to be manufactured with 100% US-made components identified in the current domestic content guidance issued by the US Department of Treasury.”
This guidance, which was released earlier this year, would require solar PV deployments to fulfil 40% of their total cost with US-made products in order to qualify for an additional 10% investment tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). From 2026 – the point at which First Solar’s factory will begin production – this threshold will rise to 55%.
The cost would encompass all of the components in a PV array, including the aluminium framing and electrical components as well as solar glass and steel, which First Solar said its Ohio-made Series 7 modules already use. Steel components in a PV array need to be 100% US-made to qualify for the tax credit.
PV Tech Premium spoke with US manufacturers about the domestic content requirements and the challenges they pose, notably the difficulty that the lack of US silicon solar cell manufacturing will pose in meeting the threshold. First Solar’s CadTel thin-film manufacturing may make it easier to meet the requirements, as its production is free from the crystalline silicon supply chain which is overwhelmingly concentrated in China.
