Who is the largest US manufacturer of solar panels?

American solar power company

First Solar, Inc. is an American manufacturer of solar panels, and a provider of utility-scale PV power plants and 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] As of 2022, First Solar was considered the fourth-largest solar company by 12-month trailing revenue[6] and in 2012 was 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] 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.[9]

Technology

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First Solar manufactures cadmium telluride (CdTe)-based photovoltaic (PV) modules, which produce electricity with a thin CdTe film on glass.[10][3]

In 2013, the company produced CdTe-panels with an efficiency of about 14 percent at a reported cost of 59 cents per watt.[11] In August 2019, researchers from NREL and First Solar published a Nature Energy article demonstrating a way to achieve 20.8% solar cell efficiency.[12][13]

History

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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.[14] In February 1999, SCI was acquired by True North Partners, which then formed First Solar, LLC.[15][16]

At the end of 2009, First Solar had surpassed an energy power production rate of 1 GW[17] and was the largest producer of PV cells in the world.[18]

The company is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and has manufacturing facilities in Perrysburg, Ohio, Kulim, Malaysia, Saigon, Vietnam and Chennai, India.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21] 30% of First Solar's workforce was laid off as a result of these actions, which were blamed on market volatility and reduced demand.[22] 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."[23]

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.[4]

In May 2023, First Solar acquired Evolar, a European company that provided persovskite technology. The deal was valued at $38M USD.[24]

Market history

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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).[citation needed] Declines and uncertainty in feed-in-tariff subsidies for solar power in European markets, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain,[25] prompted major PV manufacturers, such as First Solar, to accelerate their expansion into other markets, including the U.S., India and China.[26]

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.[27] As a result, it now competes against conventional power generators,[28] and has reduced its focus on the rooftop market.[20]

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.[29]

Production history

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In 2019, the company was expected to pass annual shipments of panels for 5,400 MWp. Production started in Perrysburg, Ohio, expanded in 2010.[30] 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[31] and Mesa, AZ.[32] 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.[33]

In 2023, the company reported current Operational Annual US Cell Capacity of 6.5 GW plus and projected Global Annual Nameplate Capacity in 2026 will be about 26 GW.

Market performance

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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.[38]

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),[39] compared to crystalline-silicon PV, which averaged $1.85 per watt in 2010.[40]

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.[41]

Installations

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First Solar had installed 1,505 MW of solar capacity as of 2012.[9] As of 2019, First Solar has over 17GW deployed globally.[42] Below are some of First Solar's solar installations and development projects:

North America

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Europe, Middle East, and North Africa

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Asia and Australia

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• 10 MW Greenough River Solar Farm in Western Australia, completed for Verve Energy and GE Energy Financial Services.[55]
• 159 MW AGL Energy projects, to be constructed in Nyngan and Broken Hill, New South Wales.[56] The 53 MW Broken Hill project was completed in 2015.[57]

See also

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References

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According to data from the Solar Energy Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy, 16 companies build solar panels in America.

First Solar, based in Ohio, is the largest U.S. solar manufacturer, producing about 50% more panels in the US than the next-biggest American-made brand. They mainly produce panels for commercial or industrial-scale installations, which means the individual panels are less efficient than the type most commonly used on rooftops, where you want to cram as much capacity into the smallest possible space.

QCells is the second-largest manufacturer of solar panels in the US—but arguably the heaviest hitter of all the residential solar panel manufacturers, American or otherwise. 

QCells is currently the most popular brand on the EnergySage marketplace by far, appearing in about 29% of all quotes given by installers to real-world customers in the first six months of 2023. That’s 12 percentage points ahead of the next-biggest solar brand on our platform (Singapore-made REC), plus 46 other solar brands. QCells claims that they have more than 30% of the market for residential solar in the U.S.

While their parent company, Hanwha, is based in South Korea, QCells recently opened two solar-panel factories in Georgia. Not all of their new panels come from those American factories (at least not yet), but there’s a good chance that if you go with QCells for your home solar system, you’ll be supporting American manufacturing.

Other notable names in American solar manufacturing include Solar4America, Silfab Solar, Heliene, Jinko Solar, and Mission Solar.

Here's the full list, according to the DOE, as of November 2023: