LAWRENCE COUNTY, ALABAMA, Ala. — Governor Kay Ivey announced on Wednesday that First Solar Inc. plans to invest $1.1 billion to establish a photovoltaic (PV) solar module manufacturing facility in Lawrence County, creating over 700 new jobs in North Alabama.
The facility in Lawrence County’s Mallard Fox West Industrial Complex is expected to be commissioned in 2025. The new fully vertically integrated facility will join three factories in Ohio, including one that will come online in the first half of 2023, to form First Solar’s expanded domestic manufacturing footprint.
Tabitha Pace, president and CEO of the Lawrence County Industrial Development Board, said she is excited about First Solar’s decision to locate its manufacturing facility in the rural North Alabama County.
First Solar estimates that its new investments in Alabama and Ohio, now estimated at approximately $1.3 billion, will add at least 850 new manufacturing and over 100 new R&D jobs, taking its total number of direct jobs in the U.S. to over 3,000 people in four states by 2025, which is believed to make it the largest employer in the American solar manufacturing sector.
“First Solar is a world-class manufacturer, and its solar modules are poised to play an increasingly important role in U.S. energy self-sufficiency,” said Governor Ivey. “I’m thrilled to see the company’s growth project headed to Lawrence County because I know it will create good jobs and have a major economic impact on this rural region."
