Dive brief:
- Rudolph Libbe, a Walbridge, Ohio-based general contractor, started Sept. 21 with the solar manufacturer First Solar’s $1.1 billion facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, according to a company press release.
- Meanwhile, on the East Coast, Wolfspeed, a chipmaker based in Durham, North Carolina, began building its $2.5 billion materials manufacturing facility in Siler City, North Carolina.
- Both projects have been promoted, in part, with public money. First Solar’s push for U.S.-made components includes its effort to qualify for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, while Wolfspeed is seeking federal CHIPS Act funds to speed up construction of its facilities locations
Diving knowledge:
The launch of the two megaprojects illustrate wave of manufacturing projects which continue to advance in the United States at a historic pace, bolstered by public funding support from the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Private companies have so far announced more than $511 billion in commitments to invest in manufacturing construction, such as semiconductor facilities, electric vehicle plants or clean energy, according to the White House. Through July, the most recent month available with data, spending on manufacturing construction increased by 71% in 12 months, according to the analysis of Associated Builders and Contractors.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar detailed the company’s research federal IRA funds in a statement in July. The law provides tax credits of 30% for the construction of clean energy manufacturing sites.
In the meantime, Wolfspeed is applying for CHIPS Act funds to support the settlement of its materials plant.
The project has already received a $1 billion incentive package from the state of North Carolina and local and county governments, including a Workforce Development Investment grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
The two developments are just the latest examples of public funding packages that continue to pile up manufacturing construction activity all over the country Starts in the industry soared 285% in August, according to the Dodge Construction Network.
The companies behind both projects also have growth ambitions.
In addition to the Louisiana facility, First Solar commissioned its Ohio factory earlier this year and expects to complete its new facility in Alabama by 2024.
Wolfspeed intends to add additional capacity as needed at its North Carolina facility between 2024 and the end of the decade. In total, the company plans to occupy more than one million square feet at the 445-acre site, according to the release.
