Project to be completed in 2007
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based First Solar LLC recently broke ground on a second $74 million solar panel plant in Perrysburg Township, Ohio. The expansion will include $11 million for a building, $60 million in machinery and equipment, and $3.3 million in inventory.
When the project is finished in 2007, the capacity of this company’s complex will triple to nearly 1 million panels a year, which are capable of producing 75MW of power. About 95% of the panels will go to Germany where there are large subsidies to support the installation of solar and wind panels.
The company expects to book its first-ever profit in 2005 on the sale of more than 300,000 panels. Ken Schultz, marketing vice president for the company, says that a portion of the revenue received on the sale of each panel will be paid to an insurance company that will issue a policy to cover recycling costs.
