- The DFC will provide $500m for First Solar’s solar components manufacturing facility in India.
- First Solar is the only U.S. company in the world’s top ten largest solar manufacturers.
- The Company aims to reach 16GW of solar manufacturing capacity by 2023.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC) has approved $500 million of debt financing for First Solar’s Indian Manufacturing facility. The funds will finance the development of a 3.3GW vertically integrated solar module manufacturing facility that First Solar intends to construct in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. First Solar manufactures thin-film solar modules which do not use polysilicon. First Solar, one of the world’s top ten largest solar manufacturers – the only U.S. company on the list – also recently unveiled plans to develop a new $680 million factory in Ohio. The U.S. solar maker plans to increase its global manufacturing capacity to 16GW by 2023.
Dev Jagadesan, DFC’s acting CEO stated that the transaction is another milestone in the United States’ effort to drive alternative supply chains – and to articulate a vision for climate finance that drives our development mission. Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar, added, “DFC’s intent to support this facility has the potential to create a high-visibility, repeatable blueprint for enabling the clean energy ambitions of like-minded nations through American innovation, ingenuity, and competitiveness,” said Widmar.