First Solar is in advanced talks with the German regional and federal authorities to obtain the necessary regulatory permits and financial framework for the expansion. The company said that it already employs more than 600 associates in its manufacturing unit in Frankfurt (Oder).
The expansion would catapult the plant’s annual manufacturing capacity to about 446MW by the fourth quarter of next year, from its 223MW capacity to serve the strong European customer base.
The expansion also helps the company increase its natural income hedge against euro/dollar exchange rate risk by producing more in Germany for European customer demand.
The company said that it has three additional factories in different phases of construction in France and Malaysia. When completed in the first quarter of 2012, the company will have more than 2.1GW of capacity, based on the annualized run rate for the first quarter of 2010.
