IXL Group Opens Structure Manufacturing Plant in Adelaide

First Solar, Inc. and the IXL Group (IXL) of companies announced the opening of IXL’s new structure manufacturing plant in Adelaide. The facility will enable IXL to assemble and deliver the mounting structures for First Solar’s 155 MW (AC) utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects at Nyngan and Broken Hill in New South Wales – Australia’s largest utility-scale solar projects to-date.

The plant is expected to create approximately 40 local jobs and is evidence of First Solar’s commitment to supporting Australian manufacturers. IXL also received support from the Automotive New Markets Program (ANMP) to assist with the capital expenditure required to establish the plant. The ANMP is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments, and delivered in collaboration with the South Australian Government to assist automotive suppliers to diversify their customer base and product range.

Historically, IXL’s metal stamping and roll-forming capability supplied the local automotive industry. Today, IXL has a dedicated business unit focused on producing structural components for solar projects. Located on a site of over 16,000 square metres with a building of 4000 square metres in Salisbury South in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, IXL’s new facility will produce approximately 100,000 mounting structures for the Nyngan and Broken Hill projects, using more than 6,000 tons of Australian-made steel. Production is now underway.

“As the solar industry continues to grow in Australia, there will be an increasing need and demand for a reliable and efficient local supplier base,” said Jack Curtis, First Solar’s vice president of business Development for Asia Pacific. “Continued utilization of local suppliers will not only reduce the cost of delivering solar power to Australia, but it will also create local jobs, develop regional skills and support more sustainable employment. Local procurement accounts for 56.3% of First Solar’s total procurement spending on the Nyngan and Broken Hill projects, with over 450 direct construction jobs expected to be created and over $66 million spent on local equipment for both projects.”