First Solar seeks property variance

The Lake Township Board of Zoning Appeals has scheduled a hearing for May 19 to consider an application by First Solar, Inc. for a variance for three parcels the company owns adjacent to its plant at 28380 Tracy Rd.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
The parcels sit along Tracy Road, between the plant and Keller Road. Combined, they cover about 96.6 acres, about 17 acres more than the parcel where the plant is located.
The township zoning resolution limits the foot print of a building to 25 percent of the land where it sits. The company is asking for a variance closer to 40 percent.
First Solar announced in April 2018 its plans to construct the 1 million-square-foot solar module manufacturing facility at the Tracy Road site. At the time, the company said the 1.2 gigawatt capacity factory would create about 500 jobs and produce its Series 6 thin film photovoltaic module.
The company began production at the plant, which tripled its U.S. capacity, in October 2019.
Last month, First Solar announced its net sales for the first quarter were $803 million, an increase of $194 million from the prior quarter.
Operating income for the first quarter was $252 million, compared to $58 million in the prior quarter.
Net income per share for the quarter was $1.96, compared to $1.08 in the prior quarter.