First Solar exits the EPC business
Citing the wild success of its Series 6 module, First Solar has announced that it is closing its engineering, procurement and construction business in the United States in order to concentrate on scaling, developing, and selling modules.
No climate debate at the DNC, NREL/First Solar improve thin-film cells: pvMB 8/23/19
Happy Friday one and all and welcome to today’s pvMB. Today we’ve got the Detroit Zoo going renewable, LONGi achieves AA bankability and community solar coming to Maryland. Let’s ride!
First Solar’s great ramp forward
First Solar has reported the largest quarterly production run and shipment volume in its history, and more than 2 GW of bookings in July alone. And with more factories underway, the thin film PV maker is just getting started.
Microsoft is on a solar shopping spree
The tech giant has signed a power contract for the output of First Solar’s 150 MWac Sun Streams 2 solar plant, bringing its total procurement of solar to nearly 500 MW – but none of these projects have been completed yet.
Roth: Bifacial tariff exemption to drive down U.S. module prices
The investment banking firm expects an increase of bifacial imports from Southeast Asia, and says that this could drop U.S. average selling prices below 40 cents per watt.
Facebook drives two big solar projects in Texas and Utah
Construction is starting on a 300 MWac solar project in Texas, as a power contract is signed for a 122 MWac solar project in Utah. The social media giant is involved in both, and both use First Solar PV modules.
Duke to decommission a nuke, solar coming to the Centre County jail: pvMB 5/30/19
Hello and welcome to your Thursday pvMB, live from day two of Solar Power Southeast today, along with the aforementioned, we’ll be checking out the Q1 accomplishments of Peak Electric.
Grass-fed beef meets big solar
First Solar has completed the 280 MWac California Flats solar project, co-located with a 73,000-acre cattle ranch which raises grass-fed beef for Whole Foods. This is the biggest demonstration of the synergies between grazing and solar that we’ve seen to date.
Designing for and monetizing curtailed solar power
Research by NREL and First Solar has produced highly accurate, real-time estimates of available aggregate peak power that a curtailed solar power plant can deliver to support the broader needs of the grid.
Retooling, construction troubles bite First Solar’s Q1 financials
The thin film PV maker has completed one of its most challenging quarters in many years; however it is still sold out into 2021.
