First Solar has officially broken ground on its four-line CdTe photovoltaic module manufacturing plant in the Dong Nam Industrial Park near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The $300M manufacturing plant is scheduled to begin commercial production in the second half of 2012 & will employ around 600 associates. The plant, which has the flexibility for future expansion, will produce more than 250MW of First Solar's advanced, thin-film solar modules per year on four manufacturing lines. The company also plans to install 3MW of its modules on the factory roof. "Our Dong Nam factory will play a key role in our plan to nearly double First Solar's capacity by 2012 and further reduce the cost of solar electricity, said Bruce Sohn, President of First Solar. We look forward to working closely with the Vietnamese authorities in the months and years to come.
