Benzinga | Jun 9, 2021 12:19PM EDT

First Solar Earmarks $680M For Solar Manufacturing Capacity Expansion

* First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) will invest $680 million to expand American domestic photovoltaic (PV) solar manufacturing capacity by 3.3 gigawatts (GW)DC annually, representing an implied capital expenditure of approximately $0.20 per watt.

* The company plans to finance the construction of its third US manufacturing facility, in Lake Township, Ohio, with existing cash resources.

* The new facility is estimated to commence operations in the first half of 2023. It is projected to achieve its throughput entitlement (modules produced per day) by the end of 2023 with over 3 GWDC of nameplate capacity. It is expected to attain full nameplate capacity in 2025.

* The facility will scale the company's Northwest Ohio footprint to a total annual capacity of 6 GWDC when fully operational.

* The 1.8 million square foot facility is projected to create 500 jobs.

* First Solar held $1.8 billion in cash and equivalents as of Mar. 31, 2021.

* Price action: FSLR shares traded higher by 2.6% at $77.94 in the market session on the last check Wednesday.