Solar panel maker bringing 715 jobs to Lawrence County

Nov. 17—MOULTON — A solar-panel manufacturer is bringing 715 jobs to Lawrence County with production beginning in 2025, according to state, county and company officials who gathered to make the announcement Wednesday.

Officials with First Solar Inc., based in Tempe, Arizona, plan to build a $1.1 billion manufacturing facility on the southwest corner of the Mallard Fox West Industrial Park near the Morgan County line. Jobs at the 2.4 million-square-foot facility are expected to pay an average of $26.77 an hour, officials said.

Ann Marie Collins, executive vice president for Savills, a London-based consulting firm representing First Solar at the announcement, said Lawrence County was selected from more than 100 locations across the country.

"The state and local groups worked hard and were dedicated to this project," she said. "We liked the quality of the available work force, the availability of the land and the infrastructure of the area. We looked at the water, wastewater, electric (and) natural gas at the industrial park."

She said the company will offer about 20 different types of jobs, from engineers to entry level spots.

County officials said it is too early to calculate how many indirect jobs would be created by suppliers, support and retail businesses moving in.

The announcement comes more than eight years after International Paper closed its Courtland mill in March 2014 and took 1,100 jobs and tax revenue with it. The IP plant was the largest employer in the county.

Tabitha Pace, president and CEO of the Lawrence County Industrial Development Board, said when IP left the county in 2014 "the county was devastated. We thought we would never recover. This has taken a lot of teamwork by all parties to make this happen."

A portion of First Solar's non-education property tax will be abated for at least 10 years for the project, but Pace did not release details on the abatement Wednesday. A portion of sales and use tax will be abated during the construction period, she said.

Kenneth Brackins, IDB chair, said the First Solar jobs will change the county.

"Historically and even more since the pandemic people want to work near where they live and play. We won't be seeing residents leave the county to go work somewhere else," he said. "With the pay that is being offered by First Solar, it will drastically improve the quality of life of many of our residents. They'll be able to afford nicer things, start building houses and educating their children."

Collins said the company plans to begin construction by June of 2023 and begin production by Dec. 31, 2025.

Lawrence County Commission Chairman Bobby Burch equated the size of the facility to "60 acres under one roof."

He said the completed facility will be in the top 15 of the largest buildings in the United States.

In a statement, First Solar said it designed the photovoltaic solar modules it will manufacture in Lawrence County at research and development centers in California and Ohio. The company is also planning production of the modules at three Ohio factories, including one scheduled to go online in the first half of 2023.

The company said it "is unique among the world's 10 largest solar manufacturers for being the only U.S.-headquartered company and for not manufacturing in China."

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey applauded the announcement in a statement.

"First Solar is a world-class manufacturer, and its solar modules are poised to play an increasingly important role in U.S. energy self-sufficiency," she said. "I'm thrilled to see the company's growth project headed to Lawrence County because I know it will create good jobs and have a major economic impact on this rural region."

A bill signed by President Joe Biden in August will direct spending, tax credits and loans to bolster technology like solar panels; consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency; emissions-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants; and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities.

First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said that legislation "has firmly placed America on the path to a sustainable energy future" and the Lawrence plant, "along with its sister factories in Ohio," will help with the transition toward cleaner energy, which supporters say will help stem climate change.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.