The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced on Tuesday that it has approved debt financing for First Solar, the largest solar manufacturing business in the United States, worth up to $500 million. The loan will finance DFC’s previously announced vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) solar module manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, which is the company’s largest single debt financing transaction. The facility’s yearly capacity is expected to be 3.3 gigawatts (GW), according to the development bank.
“DFC is ecstatic to be able to support First Solar’s new initiative in India, which will help mobilize the sector to adopt better standards that fit with US values,” said Dev Jagadesan, DFC’s acting CEO. “This transaction marks another significant step forward in the United States’ efforts to promote alternative supply chains – and to establish a vision for climate finance that supports our development goals.”
First Solar makes “thin-film” solar panels that do not contain polysilicon. The company announced its plans to set up a facility in India in July. This happened just a few months after announcing plans for a new $680 million factory in Ohio that will add 3.3GW of additional domestic manufacturing capacity by 2023 while also creating over 700 new manufacturing jobs. In 2024, they have planned to reach a global manufacturing capacity of 16GW.
The majority of the new facility’s output is slated to go to India’s rapidly rising solar sector, which is a Quad ally and critical Indo-Pacific partner for the US. DFC’s proposed financing, according to the bank, supports India’s ambitious renewable energy targets while also promoting the US commitment to combat climate change at home and abroad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a massive endeavor to install 500 GW of renewable energy in India, which the business claims will “help save lives by lowering pollution in key cities and helping to the response to the climate catastrophe.”
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