First Solar is in the process of adding 120 new employee positions at its Perrysburg, Ohio, fabrication facility.
The new employees at the US-based thin-film solar producer and project developer are a “necessity,” owing to the company’s plans to increase output at the Ohio facility by around 100 MW.
The news that two new lines are set to be installed at the facility is coming to us via the Ohio-based newspaper The Blade — which also reports that the lines are set to be installed using “existing First Solar tools.”
As it stand currently, the fabrication facility employs roughly 1,100 workers — which are spread out across four existing lines. The new lines are currently set to enter use sometime by the middle of 2015.
Said lines will reportedly be used to manufacture the company’s FS Series 3 and FS Series 4 modules. It’s expected that the modules produced via these lines will be used for projects in North America, projects likely similar to some of the recent ones the company has developed — such as the 40 MW Elm City solar project and the 65 MW Warsaw Solar project, both of which were developed for Duke Energy in North Carolina.
Owing to these projects — and others in Chile, India, Australia, and many other places — First Solar is currently looking to significantly ramp up its manufacturing output, as the recent news about the Ohio facility demonstrates. According to the company’s recent financials, the aim is to increase production by as much as 46% in 2015.
The company is also reportedly bringing online (restarting) 360 MW worth of lines at its Kulim, Malaysia, facility. Don’t be surprised to see other such announcements in the near future as well.
Related:
Top Solar Module Manufacturers of 2013
First Solar’s Thin-Film Solar Panel Advantages (Exclusive Video)
Image Credit: First Solar
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
