First Solar To Create 600 U.S. Jobs

Thin-film solar manufacturer First Solar announced Thursday it's building two new manufacturing plants to accommodate an expected influx of work.

One plant will be built in the U.S. and the other in Vietnam, but the company has not released any details on exactly where it plans to build them within those countries.

Both plants are scheduled to be completed by 2012 and to create jobs for 600 people apiece. Together the plants, once fully operational, are expected to produce 500 megawatts' worth of thin-film photovoltaic modules annually, according to First Solar.

The introduction of the new plants, coupled with previously announced expansions of existing plants in Germany, France, Malaysia, and Ohio in the U.S., will bring the company's yearly production capacity for thin-film solar modules up to 2.7 gigawatts.

For comparison, First Solar estimates that it will produce a total of 1.4 gigawatts' worth of modules in 2010.

The expansion will not surprise anyone who's been following the company's progress. First Solar has announced a string of very large supply deals within the last two years.

In August 2009, it signed a deal with Southern California Edison to supply 250 megawatts of its thin-film photovoltaic solar modules for the Desert Center solar project in Riverside County and 300 megawatts for the solar project in San Bernardino County.

And perhaps most notable, in September 2009 the company announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding to partner on China's massive 2,000-megawatt power plant planned for Inner Mongolia.

Correction at 11:49 a.m.: Due to an editing error, this story initially misreported the number of jobs that will be created by the two new plants. First Solar predicts they will each create jobs for 600 people.


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Best Buy To Plug EV Charging Stations

Twelve Best Buy stores will plug in Ecototality charging stations for electric vehicles, part of an effort to build out the fueling infrastructure for electric cars in the U.S.

Ecotality said today that its Blink EV charging stations will be installed by March at stores in Tucson, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle. Based on data gathered at those locations, the companies will consider installing more charging stations in other regions.

With electric vehicles, including the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, now coming onto the roads, the auto industry and governments are seeking to ensure that drivers have a good experience with fueling their cars.

It's expected that drivers will charge most frequently at home, either with a standard household outlet or a faster 240-volt charger. But having public charging stations is considered important to making EVs more viable and to ease drivers' concerns over driving range.

Best Buy's plan to host charging stations is part of the EV Project, in which Ecotality and other organizations are installing charging stations at homes and in public places in 16 regions in the U.S.

Best Buy is also seeking to sell electric transportation products at its stores, including bicycles, scooters, and a motorcycle.

The Blink charging station works at 240 volts, has a touch-screen display, and connects to the Internet to give drivers statistics, such as charge status and driving history.

Ecotality estimates that it takes between two and six hours to fully charge an electric vehicle battery.

Because it's so early in electric vehicle adoption, it's unclear how much drivers will use public charging stations in retail outlets or parking lots. The Best Buy installation will be one of a number of trials in the U.S. to see how useful these public locations are and whether retailers can make money by investing in the charging stations.

Separately, Ecotality said today that it will show off its fast-charging station later this week at the Business of Plugging In conference in Detroit.

The Ecotality Blink DC fast chargers use direct current to provide a "safe and meaningful charge" in 15 minutes, according to the company. These fast-charging stations will be used in some locations of the EV Project, including Tennessee.


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