Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
A big question swirling around the news that First Solar is expanding its U.S. manufacturing is how much — if anything — the recent White House import tariffs on solar panel equipment influenced the move.
What they're saying: CEO Mark Widmar said on the company's first quarter earnings call that the move will "further solidify our position as the largest U.S. solar module manufacturer," adding that production will be fully ramped up by the end of 2020 and it will create 500 jobs.
- It's a $400 million investment to expand production of its Series 6 thin-film PV module, the company said late yesterday afternoon.
Timing: It comes roughly a week after SunPower — which had lobbied against the tariffs — announced it was buying SolarWorld Americas, which manufactures in Oregon and is one of the two companies that petitioned for the penalties.
Yes, but: It's tough to say if the penalties had much effect on First Solar's decision, which the company said will triple its U.S. capacity. Yesterday, First Solar officials did not cite the tariffs as a factor behind the expansion. Instead, they said it stems from strong U.S. demand and the corporate tax overhaul recently signed into law.
- First Solar's overseas manufacturing in Malaysia and Vietnam is already exempt from the tariffs, which do not cover the cadmium-telluride thin-film tech they use.
The bottom line: With all that said, published reports and sources I touched base with last night say the tariffs were at least an indirect factor for the company, which is a solar project developer as well as manufacturer.
- The penalties affecting other companies have improved First Solar's strategic position. Greentech Media reports that their project development business has grown strongly "while competitors have been stymied by new solar tariffs."
Quoted: ClearView Energy Partners analyst Timothy Fox said there was little interest in expanded domestic manufacturing before the trade penalties.
- "Three recent announcements — NextEra raising its purchase order from JinkoSolar’s Florida facility (3/30), SunPower buying SolarWorld Americas, (4/16) and First Solar building a new plant (4/26) — suggest that the domestic solar industry is adapting to the President’s trade decision," he tells Axios in an email.