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First Solar, Inc. engages in the design and manufacture solar modules using a proprietary thin film semiconductor technology. The company manufactures solar modules on high-throughput production lines and performs all manufacturing steps in an automated, continuous process. Its solar modules employ a thin layer of cadmium telluride semiconductor material to convert sunlight into electricity. The company, as of December 31, 2006, had an annual manufacturing capacity of 75MW.
Products
Solar Modules
The company’s solar module is a single-junction polycrystalline thin film structure that employs cadmium telluride as the absorption layer and cadmium sulfide as the window layer.
Certifications
The company has participated, or is in the process of participating, in laboratory and field tests with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Arizona State University Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy, TÜV Immissionsschutz und Energiesysteme GmbH and the Institute für Solar Energieversorgungstechnik. The company has approximately 10,000 solar modules installed worldwide at test sites designed to collect data for field performance validation. Using data logging equipment, the company also monitors approximately 172,000 solar modules, representing approximately 10MW of installed photovoltaic systems, in use by the end-users that have purchased systems using the company’s solar modules.
Recycling Program
The company implements a reclamation and recycling program for its solar modules that would provide full product life cycle stewardship.
Customers
The company’s customers included Blitzstrom GmbH, Conergy AG, Gehrlicher Umweltschonende Energiesysteme GmbH, Juwi Solar GmbH, Phönix Sonnenstrom AG and Reinecke + Pohl Sun Energy AG. These customers are project developers and system integrators.
Competition
The company, within the PV industry, competes with crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell and solar module manufacturers, including BP Solar, Evergreen Solar, Kyocera, Motech, Q-Cells, Renewable Energy Corporation, Sanyo, Schott Solar, Sharp, SolarWorld, Sunpower and Suntech. It also competes with thin film solar module manufacturers, including Antec, Kaneka, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shell Solar and United Solar.
History
First Solar, Inc. was founded as First Solar Holdings, LLC in 1999 and changed its name to First Solar Holdings, Inc. Further, it changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006.
