First Solar is a US-headquartered solar technology company founded in 1999, specializing in the manufacture of Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic modules. It is the only US-headquartered company among the world's ten largest solar manufacturers. The company's fully integrated production process transforms a sheet of glass into a functional solar panel in approximately four hours, using 98 percent less semiconductor material than traditional crystalline silicon panels.
The company operates manufacturing facilities in the United States (Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana), as well as in India, Malaysia, and Vietnam, with its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. First Solar expects to reach a global annual nameplate manufacturing capacity of over 21 GW by 2026.
First Solar's technical domains include photovoltaics, thin-film solar technology, and Cadmium Telluride manufacturing. The company states its technology leads the industry with the lowest carbon footprint, lowest water usage, and fastest energy payback of any available photovoltaic technology.
