US solar manufacturer First Solar has secured a $1bn (€911m) five-year revolving credit facility from several prominent banks. 

JP Morgan Chase Bank acted as lead arranger for the facility, with Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Credit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, HSBC Bank USA, MUFG Bank, PNC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Truist Bank also participating in the deal. 

This new funding injection will support the company’s ambitious growth plans over the next five years and beyond. First Solar is aiming to bring 8GW of new capacity online by 2026, by which time it will have a global annual production capacity of 20GW. The company also announced it will invest $370m in a new research and development facility in Ohio. 

“This agreement underscores First Solar’s bankability and is underpinned by the strong fundamentals that drive our business today,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer of First Solar. “We are focused on exiting this decade in a stronger position than we entered it and liquidity is a crucial differentiator that we intend to maintain. This revolving credit facility provides us the financial headroom and flexibility we need, while also balancing our ability to grow in response to demand for our technology.” 

The company has been rapidly expanding its operations across the globe. In May, First Solar acquired Swedish thin-film company Evolar, having also recently made major supply deals with Portuguese developer EDP Renewables, Lightsource bp and IPP Silicon Ranch. In March, First Solar was one of 11 companies to receive funding from the Indian Government and was awarded Rs11.78bn ($142.6m) to develop solar manufacturing capacity in India.