First Solar is an American solar manufacturing company, unlike most of the industry which makes its panels in China.
Last year, First Solar opened a plant in Lawrence County, which brought more than 800 manufacturing jobs to Alabama. Its entire steel supply chain is within a 25-mile radius of the factory.
In Alabama, it isn’t a “solar” story so much as it is an America First manufacturing story.
At this year’s White House Christmas reception, President Trump predicted a “golden age” of American manufacturing, “the likes of which… this country has never seen.”
Lawrence County, Alabama, may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about a golden age of American manufacturing.
The community there was devastated when its largest employer, International Paper, shut down a decade ago, leaving 1,100 people jobless.
As jobs vanished, residents were left wondering if manufacturing would ever return.
And return it did, when Arizona-headquartered First Solar built a new $1.1 billion, 2.4-million-square-foot manufacturing facility to produce its American solar technology, creating more than 800 new manufacturing jobs.
The facility sits in Trinity at the Mallard Fox West Industrial Complex, strategically positioned between Huntsville and the Shoals, with quick routes to Interstate 65 and U.S. 72.
According to officials, that decision mattered more than mere convenience. It’s an example of how a rural county plugs into the wider Tennessee Valley manufacturing corridor, including suppliers, trucking lanes, and the kind of dependable power and infrastructure heavy industry requires.
For Congressman Dale Strong, whose district includes Lawrence County and much of the Tennessee Valley, First Solar’s Trinity facility is exactly the kind of Made in America win that President Trump has long planned.
“President Trump’s leadership is delivering real results for American workers and families by driving a powerful resurgence in American manufacturing,” Strong (R-Huntsville) said.
“His America First policies are leveling the playing field for American companies already building and sourcing domestically and driving new manufacturing investment here at home. Investments like this in Lawrence County are bringing back good-paying jobs, revitalizing rural communities, and strengthening America’s energy independence right here in North Alabama.”
“This is a story about making American energy technology, creating American jobs, and enabling American manufacturing powered by an American supply chain,” said Mark Widmar, First Solar’s CEO.
And thanks to Trump’s America-first approach, the company is able to continue bringing prosperity to Alabama by maintaining jobs and sourcing key materials, including steel, from the state.
The company, which boasts that its entire steel supply chain is within a 25-mile radius of its Alabama factory, estimates that every job it creates supports 7.3 additional jobs from miners and truckers to steel and glassworkers.
Tariffs on foreign-made solar panels and industrial components have levelled the playing field, making it possible for US manufacturers to compete against heavily subsidized Chinese companies, while protecting these American jobs.
And while the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was criticized by some in the solar industry for provisions that closed China-friendly loopholes allowed by the Biden administration, it has strengthened the position of American manufacturers like First Solar.
First Solar’s Widmar has been vocal about how recent policies have helped, recently noting, “The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Administration’s trade policies boosted demand for American energy technology.”
China has spent the past decade trying to dominate global solar supply chains, offering massive subsidies and free land to its manufacturers. Trump’s policies are America’s answer — and they’re working.
By reshoring production and investing in US factories, companies like First Solar are ensuring that critical energy technology is made in America, not controlled by an adversary.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
