New Solar Glass Production Line in US
NSG Group has announced plans to invest in additional TCO (transparent conductive oxide) glass production capacity in the United States. to support the growing solar market. In the proposal, a float line at the Pilkington North America, Rossford, Ohio location will install online coating capacity and start shipping glass for solar panel manufacture in the first quarter of 2025.
The upgraded float line in Rossford, Ohio will support the expansion strategy of First Solar, which has a long-standing strategic partnership with NSG. The float line will supply glass to First Solar’s manufacturing footprint in the US, which is forecast to grow to 14GW of annual nameplate capacity by 2026.
To meet the growing global demand for solar panels, specifically First Solar, NSG Group started operation of the second dedicated float line for solar glass in Vietnam in January 2020, and a new plant in Luckey, Ohio, USA has been operating since November 2020. The conversion of another NSG group float line in Johor Bahru was recently completed and is now beginning production. The glass produced in these plants is exclusively supplied to First Solar and will bring the total of lines dedicated to First Solar production to five.
