A research and development center believed to be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere was commissioned Thursday by First Solar Inc.
The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation encompasses 1.3 million square feet in Wood County’s Lake Township, near First Solar’s other Perrysburg-area properties.
That project and its upcoming perovskite development line, planned to be commissioned at First Solar’s Perrysburg campus later this year, together represent nearly another $500 million of investments in northwest Ohio. They are expected to create 300 new jobs, mostly at the Nolan Center, the company said.
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The Nolan facility includes a high-tech pilot manufacturing line allowing for the production of full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem photovoltaic modules, commonly called solar panels. Until now, First Solar had been using a manufacturing line at its Perrysburg facility for its late-stage product development efforts.
Now it has more flexibility for times in which “mission-critical tools” have to go offline, the company said.
“By resolving these limitations and constraints, the new facility is expected to accelerate innovation cycles,” it said in a news release.