By Renewable Energy Focus staff

The US$300 million solar PV module plant is scheduled to begin commercial production in the second half of 2012 and employ around 600 people.

First Solar plans to install some 3 MW of solar thin-film modules on the factory roof.

“Our Dong Nam factory will play a key role in our plan to nearly double First Solar’s capacity by 2012 and further reduce the cost of solar electricity,” says Bruce Sohn, President of First Solar. “We look forward to working closely with the Vietnamese authorities in the months and years to come.”

The factory also will include a recycling plant. The process currently recovers up to 90% of a solar PV module’s semiconductor materials and glass, by weight, for use in new solar modules and glass products, First Solar says.