| Type | Public (NASDAQ: FSLR) S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 (as First Solar Holdings, LLC) |
| Headquarters | Tempe, Arizona, U.S. |
| Key people | Michael J. Ahearn, Interim CEO, Chairman of Supervisory Board |
| Revenue | US$ 2.56 Billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Operating income | US$ 748.9 Million (FY 2010)[1] |
| Net income | US$ 664.2 Million (FY 2010)[1] |
| Total assets | US$ 4.38 Billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | US$ 3.45 Billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 4,700 (2010)[2] |
| Website | www.firstsolar.com |
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is an American manufacturer of thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, or solar panels, and a provider to PV power plants of supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses cadmium telluride (CdTe) as a semiconductor to produce panels that are less expensive than those manufactured from crystalline silicon.[3] In 2009, First Solar became the first solar panel manufacturing company to lower its manufacturing cost to $1 per watt[4] (since reduced to 74 cents per watt).[5]
The company was founded in 1990 by inventor Harold McMaster as Solar Cells, Inc. 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 Mike Ahearn, who succeeded Robert Gillette on October 25, 2011. First Solar is based in Tempe, Arizona. As of 2010, First Solar was considered the second-largest maker of PV modules worldwide[6] and ranked sixth in Fast Company’s list of the world's 50 most innovative companies.[7] In 2011, it ranked first on Forbes’s list of America’s 25 fastest-growing technology companies.[8]
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First Solar manufactures cadmium telluride (CdTe)-based photovoltaic (PV) modules, which produce electricity with a thin CdTe film on glass.[9]In July 2011, the company reached 17.3 percent efficiency, breaking the record set by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL.)[10]
In 1984, inventor and entrepreneur Harold McMaster founded Glasstech Solar. McMaster foresaw the opportunity to manufacture low-cost, thin film cells on a large scale. After trying amorphous silicon, he shifted to CdTe at the urging of Jim Nolan and founded Solar Cells, Inc., (SCI) in 1990.[11] In February 1999, McMaster sold the company to True North Partners, an investment arm of the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart.[12] John T. Walton joined the Board of the new company, and Mike Ahearn of True North became the CEO of the newly-minted First Solar. In its early years, First Solar module efficiencies were modest, about 7 percent.
First Solar launched production of commercial products in 2002 and reached an annual production of 25 megawatts (MW) in 2005.[13] At the end of 2009, First Solar had surpassed an annual production rate of one gigawatt (GW)[14] and was the largest PV module manufacturer in the world.[15]
The Company is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, has manufacturing facilities in Perrysburg, Ohio, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, and Kulim, Malaysia, and is in the process of building an additional manufacturing facility in Arizona.[16] Additionally, First Solar partnered with natural gas provider Enbridge to build the largest PV solar energy farm in the world,[17] located in Sarnia, Ontario, near the U.S.-Canadian border.
In July 2010, First Solar formed a utility systems business group to address the large-scale PV systems solutions market. While continuing to provide modules sales and turnkey solar projects, as well as engineering, procurement, construction, and operations and maintenance services to its various customer segments, the new unit will support utility customers with an integrated, portfolio-based business model.[18] In December 2011, First Solar announced that beginning in 2012, its core business would focus on its utility systems. [19]
On October 25, 2011 the company announced that Rob Gillette would no longer serve as chief executive officer and was replaced, effective immediately by the founder, Mike Ahearn.[20]
Historically, First Solar has 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, [21] prompted major PV manufacturers, such as First Solar, to accelerate their expansion into other markets, including the U.S., India and China.[22]
In December 2011, First Solar announced a change to its existing business strategy, stating it would shift away from existing markets that are heavily dependent on government subsidies, and toward providing utility-scale PV systems in sustainable markets with immediate need. [23] In making this strategic shift, First Solar will aim to compete against conventional power generators. [24] This shift in the company's strategy also means it will reduce its focus on the rooftop and off-grid market and focus primarily on serving the utility market instead. [25]
First Solar’s manufacturing cost per watt reached $1.23 in 2007 and $1.08 in 2008.On February 24, 2009, the cost/watt ratio broke the $1 barrier, reaching $0.98 per watt. By 2011, its production cost had fallen to $0.74 per watt.[26]
In 2010, the company had 24 production lines with 1,502 megawatts of manufacturing capacity. Each line had a 62.6-megawatt capacity. The first factory was built in Ohio, followed by a four-line manufacturing plant in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. In April 2007, First Solar announced the construction of an additional manufacturing plant in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Malaysia, which was expanded to four plants in 2009. In October 2008, First Solar broke ground on an expansion of its facility in Perrysburg, Ohio, completed in 2010,[27] which brought First Solar's global annual production capacity to 1,228 MW.
In 2009, First Solar invested in two additional production plants in Malaysia, consisting of four manufacturing lines each. Additionally, in the summer of 2009, First Solar announced plans to build its fourth production plant in France. In October 2010, First Solar announced it would build two new four-line manufacturing plants, one each in Vietnam and the United States. In November 2011, it announced postponing commissioning the Vietnam plant until new demand develops. [28] With the announced expansions, First Solar will nearly double production capacity from 1.5 GW in 2010 to 2.5 GW in 2012, based on anticipated line run rates.[29]
| Country | 2005 Capacity | 2006 Capacity | 2007 Capacity | 2008 Capacity | 2009 Capacity | 2010 Capacity | 2011 Capacity | 2012 Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line capacity | 25 MW | 33 MW | 44 MW | 48 MW | 53 MW | 62.6 MW | 63.1 MW (est) | 70 MW (est) |
| USA | 25 MW | 100 MW | 132 MW | 143 MW | 160 MW | 250 MW | 252 MW | 280 MW |
| Germany | - | - | 176 MW | 191 MW | 214 MW | 250 MW | 505 MW | 560 MW |
| Malaysia | - | - | - | 382 MW | 854 MW | 1002 MW | 1514 MW | 1680 MW |
| Total Capacity | 25 MW | 100 MW | 308 MW | 716 MW | 1228 MW | 1502 MW | 2271 MW | 2520 MW |
(Source: First Solar Financial Report for Quarter 3 2011 and First Solar 2012 Guidance Call)
First Solar earned $664.2 million, or $7.68 per share, in fiscal year 2010. Profits have shrunk significantly in 2011, falling to $61.1 million during the second quarter of 2011,[30] but rising to $196.5 million in the third quarter.[31] In December 2011, the company's stock value dropped 20%[32], for a total reduction of 76% in 2011.[33] The rapidly falling prices for solar modules, [34] higher costs, and uncertainty over European subsidies for renewable energy,[35] are thought to be key factors in the company’s drop in profits. In December 2011, citing a "structural imbalance" of the solar market and volatility in government subsidies of the industry, First Solar announced that in 2012 it would shift its focus away from selling modules in subsidized markets and to providing utility-scale PV systems [36]and terminate 100 employees in a second restructuring process.[37]
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 has allowed it to achieve a significantly lower price point ($0.75 per watt),[38] compared to crystalline-silicon PV, which averaged $1.85 per watt in 2010.[39] As the company shifts its focus away from turn-key installations 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. [40]
First Solar has indicated that its manufacturing cost has fallen in Q4 2010 to 75 cents per watt. By 2014, it expects to drive down cost per watt to make solar modules to between 50 and 54 cents. The biggest driver of the lower costs is better efficiency.[41]
Below is a partial list of First Solar’s solar installations and development projects:
Because cadmium is a toxic material, First Solar has implemented PV module recycling programs and is sold in Europe under an EU Council RoHS exception.[47]
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