Recently, SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank, and First Solar signed an order for 1.5GW of thin-film photovoltaic solar panels for SB Energy's 4GW solar-storage project in the United States.

This order complements First Solar's previous contract to supply 1.7GW of thin-film solar panels for five large-scale ground-mounted PV plants in Texas and California.

First Solar said the company installed 1.3GW of solar PV in 2021 and the remaining 400MW of the first order book will be commissioned in the first half of 2022.

Abhijeet Sathe, co-CEO of SB Energy, said, "We are delighted to expand our partnership with First Solar as we enter our next phase of growth and continue to develop cutting-edge climate infrastructure and technology solutions."

SB Energy aims to have 10GW of renewable energy and energy storage projects in operation/under construction by the end of 2025.

The solar panels in the new order will be produced at First Solar's Ohio facility.

Georges Antoun, Chief Commercial Officer of First Solar, said: "At First Solar, we value long-term relationships, not only based on our ability to provide competitive high-quality products and hedge against price and supply fluctuations, but also based on trust and mutual Vision."

Last year, First Solar unveiled plans to double the capacity of its 3.3GWdc plant in Ohio, First Solar's third plant in the United States, which is expected to be operational in the first half of 2023.

First Solar has been trying to expand the company's capacity in the United States as well as globally. The company also secured a $500 million loan to build a thin-film solar panels plant in India.

At the same time, First Solar also signed a 5.4GW thin-film photovoltaic module supply contract with project developer Lightsource bp and energy giant bp.