June 9, 2022
First Solar’s 2.7 GWdc vertically built-in manufacturing complicated in Ohio has achieved Platinum standing in a Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Validated Assessment Program (VAP) audit. Platinum is the very best potential score awarded on completion of a full VAP audit, which is taken into account a number one normal for onsite compliance verification and efficient, shareable social and environmental audits throughout industries.
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The audit was performed at First Solar’s manufacturing services in Perrysburg and Lake Township, Ohio, by unbiased third-party auditors specifically educated in social and environmental auditing and the VAP audit protocol. It coated the complete scope of the VAP, together with honest labor practices and human rights, well being and security measures, environmental efficiency, enterprise integrity, ethics, and supporting administration programs. The score is legitimate till May 5, 2024.
“We’re incredibly proud that our Ohio facilities set the benchmark for socially- and environmentally-responsible solar manufacturing, based on an independent, impartial standard used across manufacturing industries,” mentioned Mark Widmar, chief govt officer, First Solar. “The fact that we achieved Platinum status on our first try is a tribute to the passion and purpose of our people who exemplify First Solar’s commitment to Responsible Solar. We have demonstrated that competitiveness and scale do not need to come at the cost of people or the environment, and that our country’s transition to a sustainable energy future can be powered by responsibly-produced solar technology.”
First Solar joined the RBA, the world’s largest trade coalition devoted to supporting the rights and well-being of staff and communities within the world provide chain, in 2021. The audit of its Ohio services was the primary in a sequence of VAP audits which can be anticipated to additionally embrace its different manufacturing services in Malaysia and Vietnam.
“The successful completion of this audit demonstrates that Responsible Solar is central to the way we operate. It impacts everything we do, from how we treat our people to the care with which we manage our supply chains,” mentioned Mike Koralewski, chief manufacturing operations officer, First Solar. “It also demonstrates to the solar industry that credible onsite social auditing and supply chain due diligence frameworks exist and that we do not need to invent tailor-made solutions.”
First Solar’s Northwest Ohio footprint is the Western Hemisphere’s largest solar manufacturing complicated. The firm is investing $680 million in constructing a 3rd manufacturing unit that can develop the complicated by an annual capability of three.3 GW.
The new facility is anticipated to be commissioned within the first half of 2023 and when totally operational will scale the corporate’s Ohio footprint to a complete annual capability of 6 GW, which is believed to make it the biggest totally vertically built-in solar manufacturing complicated exterior of China.
First Solar has already invested over $2 billion in its US manufacturing footprint and, when its third manufacturing unit is totally operational, will immediately make use of over 2,500 individuals in Ohio, whereas supporting an estimated 15,000 oblique jobs by way of its American provide chain.
In addition to its Ohio manufacturing services, First Solar additionally operates factories in Vietnam and Malaysia, and is constructing a brand new 3.3 GW manufacturing unit in India that’s anticipated to be commissioned within the second half of 2023. With First Solar’s enlargement within the United States and India and optimization of its current fleet, the corporate anticipates that its nameplate manufacturing capability will double to 16 GW in 2024. First Solar is the one US-headquartered firm among the many world’s ten largest solar producers.
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Tags: First Solar
