First Solar, Inc. is a publicly traded American manufacturer of solar panels, and provider of utility-scale PV power plants, supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses rigid thin-film modules for its solar panels, and produces CdTe panels using cadmium telluride (CdTe) as a semiconductor. The company was founded in 1990 by inventor Harold McMaster as Solar Cells, Inc. and the Florida Corporation in 1993 with JD Polk. In 1999 it was purchased by True North Partners, LLC, who rebranded it as First Solar, Inc. The company went public in 2006, trading on the NASDAQ. Its current chief executive is Mark Widmar, who succeeded the previous CEO James Hughes July 1, 2016. First Solar is based in Tempe, Arizona. In 2009, First Solar became the first solar panel manufacturing company to lower its manufacturing cost to $1 per watt. As of 2022, First Solar was considered the fourth-largest solar company on American stock exchanges by 12-month trailing revenue and in 2012 was ranked sixth in Fast Company's list of the world's 50 most innovative companies. In 2011, it ranked first on Forbes's list of America's 25 fastest-growing technology companies. It is listed on the Photovoltaik Global 30 Index since the beginning of this stock index in 2009. The company was also listed as No. 1 in Solar Power World magazine's 2012 and 2013 rankings of solar contractors.

Technology

First Solar manufactures cadmium telluride (CdTe)-based photovoltaic (PV) modules, which produce electricity with a thin CdTe film on glass. In 2013, the company produced CdTe-panels with an efficiency of about 14 percent at a reported cost of 59 cents per watt. In August 2019, researchers from NREL and First Solar published a Nature Energy article demonstrating a way to achieve 20.8% solar cell efficiency.

History

In 1984, inventor and entrepreneur Harold McMaster founded Glasstech Solar. After trying amorphous silicon, he shifted to CdTe and founded Solar Cells, Inc. (SCI) in 1990. In February 1999, SCI was acquired by True North Partners, which then formed First Solar, LLC. At the end of 2009, First Solar had surpassed an energy power production rate of 1 GW and was the largest producer of PV cells in the world. The company is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and has manufacturing facilities in Perrysburg, Ohio, Kulim, Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Chennai, India. In July 2010, First Solar formed a utility systems business group to address the large-scale PV systems solutions market. Utility systems are now the company's core business focus, with a strategy to focus on markets that do not require subsidies to support the solar generation business. On April 17, 2012, First Solar announced it would restructure operations worldwide. This restructuring process included phasing out operations in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany and idling four production lines in Kulim, Malaysia. 30% of First Solar's workforce was laid off as a result of these actions, which were blamed on market volatility and reduced demand. Mark Widmar, the CFO of First Solar, said, "We need to resize our business to a level of demand that is highly reliable and predictable." On July 1, 2016, Mark Widmar was appointed CEO of First Solar. Previously he had been chief financial officer. Company founder and former CEO Mike Ahearn remains chairman of the board. In May 2023, First Solar acquired Evolar, a European company that provided perovskite technology. The deal was valued at $38M USD.

Market history

Historically, First Solar sold its products to solar project developers, system integrators, and independent power producers. Early sales were primarily in Germany because of strong incentives for solar enacted in the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) of 2000 (cp. Solar power in Germany). Declines and uncertainty in feed-in-tariff subsidies for solar power in European markets, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, prompted major PV manufacturers, such as First Solar, to accelerate their expansion into other markets, including the U.S., India and China. Beginning in December 2011, First Solar shifted away from existing markets that are heavily dependent on government subsidies and toward providing utility-scale PV systems in sustainable markets with immediate need. As a result, it now competes against conventional power generators, and has reduced its focus on the rooftop market. On February 24, 2009, First Solar's cost per watt broke the $1 barrier, reaching $0.98. Production cost has continued to fall and in February 2013, reached $0.68 per watt. 11.4 GW of solar modules were sold in 2023. Production costs of 18.8 Cent/Watt were forecast in February 2024, with average sales prices of 18.2 Cent/kWh for sales of around 16 GW in 2024.

Production history

In 2019, the company was expected to pass annual shipments of panels for 5,400 MWp. Production started in Perrysburg, Ohio, expanded in 2010. Between 2007 and 2012, production grew in additional plants in Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany, in Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Malaysia and in France. Other locations considered for expansions before 2012 were Vietnam and Mesa, AZ. The 2023 Sustainability Report published in August 2023 highlights findings related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics, including modern slavery and forced labor findings. Report findings shared with media support the company's proactive efforts and due diligence to address human right violations within the solar power supply chain as they are discovered. First Solar's products have been released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Market performance

While First Solar witnessed record sales of over $3.37 billion in 2012, its restructuring efforts impacted the bottom line, leading to a net loss of $96.3 million – or $1.11 per share – for the year. Historically, the low cost of First Solar's modules has been the key to its market performance. The use of cadmium telluride instead of silicon allowed it to achieve a significantly lower module cost ($0.67 per watt), compared to crystalline-silicon PV, which averaged $1.85 per watt in 2010. As the company shifts its focus away from module sales to utility-scale projects, it will need to become price competitive with non-solar power sources, a move which its executives say will require the company to reduce manufacturing costs and optimize efficiency.

Installations

First Solar had installed 1,505 MW of solar capacity as of 2012. As of 2019, First Solar has over 17GW deployed globally. Below are some of First Solar's solar installations and development projects:

North America

Europe, Middle East, and North Africa

Asia and Australia