The company is known to be a world-class state-in-art provider of fossil-fuel alternatives to Electricity generation, encapsulating the sustainability and responsibility to the planet. The company’s integrated power plant solutions which are arriving in India will catch the attention of the foreign investors to seek a home for investment planning in India.
First Solar, a US-based global leader in comprehensive photovoltaic solar systems has come up with a vertically integrated thin-film solar module manufacturing facility in India, which has a capacity of 3.3 GWdc. The investment worth 684 million dollars is likely to be made in setting up a factory that is likely to be operational by the second half of 2023. The project is forecasting to create employment opportunities for 1,000 people. The ultimate plan has been taken considering the right time to set up a Solar ecosystem to provide energy solutions in terms of sustainable manufacturing.
“India’s comprehensive approach provides precisely the kind of level playing field needed of non-Chinese solar manufactures to compete on their own merits and should be the framework for other like-minded nations,” said Mark Widmar, CEO, First Solar. Expressing delight, he further added, “We are very pleased to support the sustainable energy aspirations of a major US ally in the Indo-Pacific region with American-designed solar technology. Vitally, it has combined its is clean energy goals with efficient trade and industrial policy designed to enable self-reliant domestic manufacturing and true energy security. We also have many longstanding customers in the country that will be pleased to have access to an advanced photovoltaic module, which is made in India and made for India.”
The design of the project will be prospered using the standard manufacturing template which was announced to set up the factory in Ohio. The Industry 4.0 architecture, an asset of the machine to machine communication, mechanism of artificial intelligence and internet of things connectivity are the fascinating integrants of the First Solar’s photovoltaic Module.
The module is designed and developed at the Research and Development of United States and is a touchstone of reliability, durability and environmental performance. Every single module is composed of a cadmium telluride semiconductor whose thickness is just 3 % of the human hair.
As per the earlier reports, First Solar is planning to invest 680 million dollars to extend its native photovoltaic solar manufacturing capacity by 3.3 GW annually. For this plan to be effective, the company is projecting a capital expenditure of over 0.20 dollars per watt. The sum-up of the plan is to double the photovoltaic capacity to 16 GWdc.
A clear-cut vision of solar expansion
As per the statements of the officials, India is a favourable investment destination for First Solar as the project of their module technology is advantageous in a hot and humid climate, which is India’s hallmark. There is an urgency for 25 GW of solar energy to be deployed every year for the next nine years.
The reports show that India will be the world’s third-largest electricity consumer by 2030. Therefore, India is assuring to feed the country with 40 % of renewable energy by 2030. With the ultimate steps being taken regarding renewables, India’s solar capacity is foreseen to rise to 20 % of the world’s installed solar capacity by 2040.
First Solar distinctive manufacturing chunk includes thin Film PV modules using fully integrated, the continuous process under the one roof endowed with the use of cadmium telluride semiconductor. The company is determined to revamp the amount of semiconductors material used. It also works on an operation that is capable of recovering more than 90 % cadmium telluride for use in new modules.
First Solar’s PV modules are bestowing excellent manufacturing performance with low-carbon alternatives to the traditional crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels. The specialities of the company are quality operation and maintenance, thin-film solar panel manufacturing accompanied by controls and grid integration, remote diagnostics, Off-grid, desalinization and mining power systems. The uniqueness of First Solar lies in its US-headquartered state. Being prominent solar manufacture among the world’s ten largest manufacturers, it does not manufacture in China.
The previously released quarterly reports have shown that the sales rates of First Solar were decreased by 174 million dollars as compared to the prior quarter. The net of the quarter was 629 million dollars. There was also a dilution of the net income as compared to the previous quarter. Henceforth, to expand its domestic solar manufacturing, the mega-investment plan of 680 million dollars to expand the solar manufacturing capacity of 3.3 GW annually was incorporated. The Arizona based solar manufacturing firm earlier announced its plan in Ohio and now it is ready to be extended to India.
The soaring plans of outside investors are going to speed up India’s Renewable Energy. India has been targetting to add large-scale conventional power capacities. The plans to catalyze the renewable energies project are intended to make India commercially viable in conventional power resources. For this, FDI inflows like that of First Solar are capable of transfiguring the technology roadmap to Clean Energy Transition.
