Azure Power Global signed a deal for 600 MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules from First Solar.
The agreement is the first for production from Arizona-based First Solar’s new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, India, which is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2023. Under the agreement, Azure Power is expected to take delivery of First Solar’s Series 7 PV solar modules from the fourth quarter of 2023 to 2025.
First Solar’s manufacturing facility is projected to have an annual nameplate capacity of 3.3 GW and is expected to produce a version of the company’s Series 7 modules optimized for the Indian market.
New Delhi-based Azure developed one of India’s first utility-scale solar projects in 2009. It has a total renewable energy portfolio of over 7.4 GW, of which nearly 3 GW is operational.
In late July, First Solar reported a record bookings backlog of 44.3 GW. It said that its modules have a carbon footprint that is 2.5 times lower and a water footprint that is three times lower than the average crystalline silicon solar panel made with cells produced in China.
In addition to its new manufacturing facility in India and a third factory in the U.S., both of which are expected to come online in 2023, First Solar recently announced that it plans to invest up to $1.2 billion to build a fourth factory in the Southeast. It also is expanding its existing manufacturing capacity in Ohio. The new investments are expected to scale the company’s annual domestic manufacturing capacity by 4.4 GW. It has a goal of reaching greater than 20 GW of global annual manufacturing capacity by 2025.
The company also operates factories in Vietnam and Malaysia.