First Solar Plans German Manufacturing Expansion
Source/Type: News - Staff reports

Author: CompoundSemi News Staff

June 14, 2010... First Solar, Inc. announced plans to expand its German manufacturing plant in Frankfurt an der Oder. The plan will reportedly double the company's local production capacity and add several hundred new jobs to the more than 600 it already employs in Frankfurt (Oder) manufacturing its thin-film solar modules. First Solar says it is in advanced talks with the German regional and federal authorities to obtain the necessary permits and financial framework for the expansion. The highest value of the US dollars compared to the Euro in the past several years combined with German government incentives, apparently made the company's production expansion in Germany a very attractive option.

The company says that the expansion will double the annual capacity of the Frankfurt (Oder) manufacturing plant from 223 MW today to around 446 megawatts (MW) by the fourth quarter of 2011. It also will help increase its natural income hedge against euro/dollar exchange rate risk by producing more in Germany for European customers.

The company has three additional factories in different phases of construction in France and Malaysia. When all the factories are on line, the total capacity of the company will rise from its current level of 1.3 MW to an estimated 2.1 MW annually.

Minister President Matthias Platzeck commented, “This will create sustainable jobs. At the same time, the expansion of production capacity of solar modules will foster our top position in renewable energy and will help the state to achieve its ambitious energy and climate goals.”

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