First Solar Secures Facility in Ohio for New Distribution Center

First Solar, Inc. has acquired a 1.2 million sq ft facility in Troy Township, Ohio, to serve as a new distribution center, expanding its Ohio manufacturing footprint to over 7 GW. The solar technology company plans to repurpose the facility and invest over $2 billion in new manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, aiming for 14 GW of fully integrated US solar manufacturing capacity by 2026. First Solar will also invest up to $370 million in an R&D innovation center in Perrysburg, Ohio, expected to be completed in 2024.

“As we prepare to expand our Ohio capacity by almost a gigawatt this year, there’s a need for our logistics and distribution capabilities to scale to match manufacturing growth,” said Mike Koralewski, chief supply chain officer of First Solar. “We intend to use this facility to ensure the efficient and timely shipping of modules to our customers, repurposing it into a dedicated distribution hub for the largest solar manufacturing footprint in the Western Hemisphere. We expect that this approach will allow us to streamline logistics operations, while reducing operating costs and contributing to our cost reduction roadmap.”

He further added, “In the long term, the flexible space that the facility affords us could also serve as a light-scale satellite manufacturing location with the potential to support our factories and R&D center in Ohio.”