First Solar, Inc. announced an agreement to supply Swift Current Energy with 500 megawatts (MW) of advanced Series 7 thin film modules. Swift Current Energy has previously placed orders for 3.3 gigawatts of First Solar modules in 2022. This latest order, which was booked prior to the release of First Solar's Q3 2023 results on 31 October, will see modules delivered between 2027 and 2028.
Swift Current Energy has commercialized more than 2.5 GW of renewable energy projects, has a project pipeline of more than 10 GW of solar, wind and energy storage, and owns 1.4 GW of renewable energy projects currently in operation or in advanced construction.
"As we continue to progress our US development pipeline, certainty of pricing and supply is essential to ensuring that we deliver capacity as planned," said Eric Lammers, co-founder and chief executive officer, Swift Current Energy. "This latest agreement with First Solar supports our effort to build a resilient, competitive value chain, while supporting investments in domestic manufacturing, along with the jobs and economic benefits that come with it."
First Solar's responsibly produced, advanced thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules set industry benchmarks for quality, durability, reliability, design, and environmental performance. The company's Series 7 modules have the lowest carbon and water footprint of any commercially available PV module today, and it's the first PV manufacturer to have its product included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) global registry for sustainable electronics.
"We are thrilled that Swift Current Energy has chosen to extend its partnership with First Solar to 2028, entrusting a significant portion of its development pipeline to our technology," said Georges Antoun, chief commercial officer, First Solar. "Their decision speaks volumes to the competitive value that we are able to deliver in terms of energy, certainty of pricing and supply, and an advanced PV module that is responsibly produced in America, for America."
First Solar is the largest solar manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere, with approximately 6 GW of operational, fully vertically integrated nameplate capacity in the US. The company has embarked on an expansion strategy that is forecast to grow its footprint to 14 GW of nameplate capacity in the US and 25 GW globally by 2026. In addition to its third Ohio factory, commissioned earlier this year, First Solar anticipates further expanding its footprint in the state by 0.9 GW while building new manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, each with an expected annual nameplate capacity of 3.5 GW.
The Alabama and Louisiana facilities, which are expected to represent over $2 billion in investment and are forecast to begin commercial shipments in 2024 and 2026, respectively, are designed to produce the Series 7 modules ordered by Swift Current and expected to be made with 100% US-made components identified in the current domestic content guidance issued by the US Department of the Treasury. First Solar anticipates that once its Louisiana factory is completed and ramped, Series 7 modules will account for over two-thirds of its annual domestic nameplate capacity. Series 7 modules currently produced at the company's Ohio facility are already manufactured with US-made glass and steel.
