Companies First Solar Inc Follow July 27 (Reuters) – First Solar Inc (FSLR.O) on Thursday announced plans to spend up to $1.1 billion on what will be its fifth U.S. factory to meet booming demand for American-made solar panels. It is the second time in the past year that the top U.S. panel maker has announced a major expansion of its domestic manufacturing footprint. President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, a law passed last year that incentivizes homegrown production of clean energy equipment, is underpinning a boom in solar factory investments. "By expanding America's solar manufacturing base, and the value…