First Solar
Designs and manufactures thin-film photovoltaic solar modules.
Company facts
- Founded
- 1999
- Employees
- 8,100
- Headquarters
- United States
- CEO
- Mark Widmar
- Type
- Public
- Listed
- NASDAQ: FSLR
- Subsidiaries
- First Solar Malaysia, First Solar Vietnam, First Solar Power India, First Solar Development, First Solar Manufacturing
About
Founded in 1999, First Solar is America's leading solar technology company and a global provider of responsibly produced, eco-efficient photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, First Solar is unique among the world's ten largest solar manufacturers as the only US-headquartered company, with manufacturing operations in Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The company's advanced Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin film technology sets industry benchmarks for quality, durability, and sustainability. First Solar's fully integrated manufacturing process can transform a sheet of glass into a fully functional solar panel in approximately four hours, using 98 percent less semiconductor material than traditional crystalline silicon panels. With over 21 GW of expected global annual nameplate manufacturing capacity by 2026, First Solar leads the industry with the lowest carbon footprint, lowest water usage, and fastest energy payback of any PV technology.