Solar energy equipment maker First Solar Inc. recently announced plans to build a $1-billion photovoltaic module manufacturing plant at a to-be-determined location in the southeast U.S., and to invest another $185 million upgrading and expanding one of its existing plants in Ohio.
The Tempe, Ariz.-based company is one of the world’s top 10 solar equipment makers, but it may soon find it is part of a larger domestic solar market. A recent report from the Solar Energy Industry Association predicts “significant new investments” in solar capacity within the next few years, thanks in part to incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act recently passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.