Today, First Solar commissioned the Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation, a new research and development (R&D) facility in Lake Township, Ohio, believed to be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Named in honor of James “Jim” F. Nolan, a former board member and the architect of First Solar’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor platform, this facility spans 1.3 million square feet and features a high-tech pilot manufacturing line for producing full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem PV modules. Before this center, First Solar’s late-stage product development took place at its Perrysburg facility, which limited flexibility and created constraints when critical tools had to go offline. The new facility aims to overcome these challenges and accelerate innovation cycles.
“Thin films are the next technological battleground for the solar industry because they are key to commercializing tandem devices, which are anticipated to be the next disruption in photovoltaics,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “While the United States leads the world in thin film PV, China is racing to close the innovation gap. We expect that this crucial investment in R&D infrastructure will help maintain our nation’s strategic advantage in thin film, accelerating the cycles of innovation needed to ensure that the next disruptive, transformative solar technology will be American-made.”
The Jim Nolan Center is part of an approximately half-billion dollar investment by First Solar in R&D infrastructure. The company also plans to commission a perovskite development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio, campus in the second half of 2024. First Solar, which has invested nearly $2 billion in R&D, operates laboratories in Santa Clara, California; Perrysburg, Ohio; and Uppsala, Sweden. Notably, First Solar’s California Technology Center (CTC) in Santa Clara recently achieved a 23.1% efficient CdTe cell, a new world record certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Founded in 1999 and celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, First Solar is unique among the world’s largest solar manufacturers as the only US-headquartered company and for scaling the production of thin film solar panels. The company ended 2023 with 16.6 gigawatts (GW) of annual global nameplate manufacturing capacity and is projected to exceed 25 GW by 2026. First Solar plans to commission new manufacturing facilities in Alabama in the second half of 2024 and Louisiana in the second half of 2025, aiming for a total US nameplate capacity of 14 GW by 2026.
First Solar’s ongoing and planned investments in R&D infrastructure are expected to create approximately 300 new jobs by 2025, most of which will be at the Jim Nolan Center. These investments make First Solar a significant enabler of American jobs among solar manufacturers.
A recent study by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, commissioned by First Solar, estimated that the company supported 16,245 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in 2023, representing approximately $1.6 billion in annual labor income. As First Solar grows to an expected 14 GW in annual US nameplate capacity by 2026, it is forecasted to support 30,060 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, representing $2.8 billion in annual labor income. The study projects that every direct job First Solar supports in 2026 will support 7.3 jobs nationwide.
