First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory

First Solar, the US’s largest solar panel manufacturer, has now announced the location of its new solar factory. The company says it will build a new facility in Gaffney, South Carolina, to handle the final production steps for its Series 6 Plus thin film modules. Those components are currently made by First Solar’s factories overseas, but once the South Carolina plant opens in the second half of 2026, they’ll be finished on US soil.