According to an economic impact study, the company is forecast to support nearly 40,000 American jobs by 2027, increasing by nearly 10,000 from 2025 to 2027.
PHOENIX—A new economic impact study released in February by First Solar, Inc., details the company’s estimated contributions to the U.S. economy.
Workers at a First Solar manufacturing facility. (Image: First Solar, Inc./Business Wire)
The Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette used IMPLAN economic modeling software to analyze First Solar’s actual and forecasted U.S. spending in 2025 and 2027. According to a release from First Solar, the company expects to operate approximately 18 gigawatts (GW) of annual nameplate solar module production capacity across six manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Louisiana, Ohio, and South Carolina, by 2027.
In 2025, First Solar’s U.S. operations are reported to have supported an estimated 29,605 direct, indirect, and induced jobs nationwide, representing approximately $3 billion in labor income. That’s a fully-loaded average of $101,145 per worker, more than double the national median personal income. This data does not include downstream impacts, such as the development, construction, and maintenance of solar power plants using First Solar’s technology, the release stated.
By 2027, the company is projected to support 39,320 jobs and approximately $4 billion in annual labor income, inclusive of direct, indirect, and induced effects. This represents an increase of almost 10,000 jobs and $1 billion in labor income between 2025 and 2027.
“In 2025, every First Solar job supported an estimated six direct, indirect, and induced jobs,” the release stated. “This number is in line with the large impacts documented in 2023 and, based on projections, would have a similar multiplier when looking ahead to 2027. By comparison, the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that every manufacturing job supports 4.8 jobs in the overall U.S. economy.”
According to the release, First Solar contributed an estimated $5.8 billion in direct, indirect, and induced value to the U.S. economy in 2025. Its annual contribution to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to increase 28 percent to approximately $7.8 billion in 2027.
First Solar’s U.S. capital investments are reported to have supported an estimated 10,370 additional direct, indirect, and induced jobs— primarily tied to construction activity—in 2025. This represents “nearly $900 million in labor income and contributing an additional $1.6 billion to U.S. GDP,” the release said.
“This study demonstrates how genuinely American solar manufacturing can deliver long‑term economic value at the intersection of national priorities, such as energy dominance, affordable electricity, and economic prosperity,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer at First Solar, in a statement. “We’re proud to contribute to America’s reindustrialization through our manufacturing and supply chain investments, as our technology works alongside all other forms of energy generation to produce affordable, reliable electricity to power growth and prosperity.”
The study’s findings are unique to First Solar, which operates fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing facilities that produce thin film photovoltaic (PV) solar panels in a single process that integrates the manufacturing of wafers and cells. The process enables the company to transform a sheet of glass into a fully functional solar panel in approximately four hours. Additionally, First Solar relies primarily on an American value chain for the raw materials, including glass and steel, that enable its U.S. manufacturing operations.
First Solar is reported to operate the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere. The company currently operates five manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Ohio, with a sixth plant under construction in South Carolina, which is expected to begin operation in the second half of 2026.
The new South Carolina facility is expected to increase First Solar’s capacity to produce American-made solar technology by 3.7 GW, with the company reaching approximately 18 GW of annual nameplate capacity in 2027. Altogether, the company will have invested approximately $4.5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019, the release stated.
First Solar stated that it is “the only U.S.-headquartered company among the world’s largest solar manufacturers.” The company is focused on competitively and reliably enabling power generation needs with its “advanced uniquely American thin film PV technology.”
The technology, developed at R&D labs in California and Ohio, is said to provide “a competitive, high-performance, and responsibly produced alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV modules.”