First Solar

The U.S.-based manufacturer is planning a vertically integrated thin-film solar module manufacturing facility in India. The factory will likely be built in Tamil Nadu and become operational in the second half of 2023.

The U.S. Department of Energy has released $20 million in funding to solicit participation in a consortium of leaders, organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, that will focus on thin-film cadmium telluride module development.

The 1.8 million-square-foot facility is projected to create 500 jobs and produce an enhanced thin-film PV module for the utility-scale solar market in the U.S.

First Solar and Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS will initially develop an integrated power plant control and SCADA system, as part of a broader plan to build integrated photovoltaic/hydrogen power plants.

The US cadmium telluride thin-film module maker said its Series 6 CuRe panels are able to retain 92% of its performance at the end of the 30-year warranty. The improved stability of the product was achieved by eliminating copper and placing Group V elements such as antimony or arsenic onto the tellurium crystal sites.

Rio Tinto plans to spend nearly $3 million on a facility in Utah to recover tellurium, a critical mineral used in solar panels.

The thin-film module manufacturer achieved a turnover of $2.7 billion and a profit of $400 million last year. The company also revealed that it is evaluating further U.S. manufacturing expansion, “contingent on the right policy environment.”

First Solar has sold off U.S. solar projects, including 200 MW scheduled to go into service in June, as well as 700 MW of capacity in early-stage development.

The deal includes the Rabbitbrush, Madison, Oak Trail, Horizon, and Ridgely projects, which are expected to start construction in the United States in the next two years, and the 30 MW Barilla Solar project, which is operational.

“Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years.”