In Gaffney, 500 people are already at work making solar panels — and nearly 200 more jobs are on the way

A new factory in Gaffney, South Carolina, has started finishing thin-film solar panels — the kind that turn sunlight into electricity — and it is already busy. First Solar has filled 500 jobs at the $330 million plant, and expects nearly 200 more as it reaches full production. The first phase can finish panels with a combined capacity of 1.7 gigawatts a year, enough solar equipment for a great many rooftops and solar farms. A second phase, due by mid-2027, will double that to 3.4 gigawatts. It is the company's sixth manufacturing plant in the USA, chosen and built in less than a year.

SDG 7 · Affordable and clean energy — Mechanism: infrastructure build