“Contingent upon permitting and pending approval of Indian government incentives that are satisfactory to First Solar, the advanced facility is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2023,” First Solar said.
American solar technology company First Solar Inc said on Friday that it is investing $684 million in a new, fully vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) thin film solar module manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
The proposed facility will have a nameplate capacity of 3.3 gigawatts (GW) DC. First Solar produces its thin film PV modules using a fully integrated, continuous process under one roof and said that it does not rely on Chinese supply chains. The facility is projected to create more than 1,000 jobs in Tamil Nadu.
It would be designed using the manufacturing template established for First Solar’s recently-announced factory in Ohio and would combine highly skilled workers with Industry 4.0 architecture, machine-to-machine communication, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things connectivity, the company said.
“Contingent upon permitting and pending approval of Indian government incentives that are satisfactory to First Solar, the advanced facility is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2023,” First Solar said.
“India is an attractive market for First Solar, and not simply because our module technology is advantaged in its hot, humid climate. It is an inherently sustainable market, underpinned by a growing economy and appetite for energy, with a well-defined goal that will need over 25 GW of solar to be deployed every year for the next nine years,” Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar, said.
“Crucially, it has combined its clean energy targets with effective trade and industrial policy designed to enable self-sufficient domestic manufacturing and true energy security. We also have many long-standing customers in the country that will be pleased to have access to an advanced PV module, which is made in India, for India,” he added.
The proposed facility will follow First Solar’s Responsible Solar principles across sourcing, manufacturing and lifecycle management. First Solar said its manufacturing process also allows it to produce solar modules with a carbon footprint that is 2.5-times lower, a water footprint that is three times lower, and an energy payback time that is twice as fast as crystalline silicon (c-Si) panels made in China. The company’s pV modules are designed and developed at R&D labs in California and Ohio.
Source : economictimes
