Two Companies Will Build Thin-Film Plants in U.S.

By Paula MeltonFirst Solar has chosen an abandoned General Motors testing facility in Mesa, Arizona as the site of its second U.S. factory. The plant will create 600 jobs and be able to produce 250 MW worth of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules per year, according to the company, which expects to start shipping modules from the Mesa factory by late 2012. In a press release, First Solar also said the facility will have a 3 MW PV array on its roof and a ground-mounted PV array that would be used for testing. It will also recycle other First Solar modules as part of its production process. General Electric has also announced plans to build a new thin-film factory in the U.S., which it says will produce 400 MW worth of PV per year and employ 400 workers. The location of this plant has not been announced.