First Solar Sets Inauguration of $330 Million South Carolina Plant

First Solar (FSLR ) will inaugurate the first phase of its new production facility in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina, on October 28, 2026, the company announced on October 27, 2026. The approximately $330 million plant onshores final production processes for the company’s Series 6 Plus modules and currently employs approximately 500 people.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, US Senator Darline Graham, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, State Senator Harvey Peeler, State Representatives Dennis Moss and Brian Lawson, and Gaffney Mayor Lyman D. Dawkins III are expected to join First Solar Chief Executive Officer Mark Widmar, employees, and community leaders for the ceremony. The ceremony will be live streamed on First Solar’s X account beginning at 1 pm ET.

First Solar forecasts that employment at the site will rise to nearly 700 by mid-2027, when the facility’s second phase is expected to be completed.

Site Selection and Capacity

First Solar announced on November 14, 2025 that it had selected Gaffney for the facility, which at the time was scheduled to commence commercial operations in the second half of 2026. The company said it expected to spend approximately $330 million to establish the plant and forecast that it would create over 600 new jobs with an average manufacturing salary of $74,000 per year, which it described as approximately twice the per capita income in Cherokee County.

The onshored processes transform thin film solar cells produced by First Solar’s international fleet into fully completed Series 6 Plus modules. The company expects the facility to add 3.7 gigawatts of annual nameplate capacity, taking its US total to 17.7 gigawatts in 2027, and expects production there to be fully compliant with anticipated Foreign Entities of Concern guidance.

First Solar said the project was catalyzed by demand for domestically produced energy technology created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025. “The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Administration’s trade policies boosted demand for American energy technology, requiring a timely, agile response that allows us to meet the moment,” Widmar said in the November 2025 announcement. “We expect that this new facility will enable us to serve the US market with technology that is compliant with the Act’s stringent provisions, within timelines that align with our customers’ objectives.”

The Gaffney plant joins three fully vertically integrated manufacturing facilities in Ohio and one each in Alabama and Louisiana, along with research and development centers in Ohio and California, a footprint First Solar describes as the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development footprint in the Western Hemisphere. The company expects to have invested approximately $4.5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019 and to directly employ over 5,500 people in the United States by the end of 2026. By 2027, it expects to support over 30,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, estimated at more than $3 billion in labor income, citing an economic study conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

State and Local Response

The South Carolina governor’s office said the facility is located at 121 Logistics Drive in Gaffney and that the state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project. The plant expands First Solar’s existing South Carolina presence, which includes a distribution center in Duncan, Spartanburg County, and a longstanding partnership with Inland Port Greer.

“South Carolina is proud to be a destination for innovative energy companies that are powering our country with American technology,” McMaster said when the site selection was announced. “First Solar’s investment will create 600 new jobs in Cherokee County, which will greatly strengthen the local economy and help advance America’s energy independence.”

Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said the investment would further strengthen South Carolina’s growing reputation in the clean energy sector and bring economic opportunities to a rural part of the state. SC Ports President and CEO Micah Mallace said the ports authority had a productive relationship with First Solar and was honored by its choice of Cherokee County. Cherokee County Council Chairman Tim Spencer called the announcement a milestone for the county, citing the $330 million investment and 600 jobs.

First Solar was founded in 1999, is headquartered in Arizona, and has manufactured in the United States since 2002.