First Solar delays Ho Chi Minh plant

First Solar would delay $300 million factory in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City.

Thew US-based firm reasoned a supply-demand imbalances in the world solar market.

Tymen DeJong, First Solar’s vice president,said the First Solar plant in Dong Nam Industrial Zone will be postponed until market demand requires the additional capacity.

He said First Solar would complete construction of its factory, “but has postponed new hiring and importation of equipment until the project is reactivated”.

The original plans had commercial production kicking off by mid-2012 with a further 600 workers to be taken on.

The second phase is slated to begin in 2013 and complete in February 2014. The plant design includes four production lines each with capacity of 59.6 megawatts per year. The first-phase capacity is set at 238MW annually and second-phase capacity will be 600MW per year. The plant is designed to maximise energy efficiency, which will contribute to the industry-leading energy payback time and a low carbon footprint for First Solar’s thin-film modules.