Sun, 19 May 2013 15:11:09 GMTFirst Solar BlogRenewable energy development is growing at impressive rates in Australia. In particular, if you’ve heard of Bill Bryson’s popular book, “In a Sunburned Country,” it’s no stretch to imagine the potential for solar generation in Australia.  Solar energy is the most abundant of Australia’s natural resources, and should be playing a much larger role in Australia’s energy mix.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=AustralianMade&blog=First+Solar5/2/2013For over 40 years, Earth Day – April 22nd – has inspired individuals and organizations to consider their environmental impact and commit to sustainability actions.   http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=FacesofClimateChange&blog=First+Solar4/22/2013The same GPS technology that increasingly triangulates our lives is helping scientists study the pronghorn antelope that roam the Carrizo Plain near the 3,500-acre Topaz Solar Farms project, currently under construction in San Luis Obispo County, Calif.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=TopazPronghorn&blog=First+Solar3/29/2013Local municipal utilities can play an important role in increasing solar PV’s share in the electricity mix. In Germany, local utilities are proving to be the engine behind the energy transition towards renewables.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=DUHMunicipal&blog=First+Solar3/21/2013There is substantial historical precedent, even historical momentum, for subsidizing solar energy deployment. Not a single form of electricity generation – be it coal, oil, hydro, natural gas, or nuclear – failed to receive significant government support, especially during early deployment. These have taken the form of:http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=TraditionSubsidies&blog=First+Solar3/14/2013First Solar’s technical article titled “Life Cycle Water Usage in CdTe Photovoltaics” has been published in the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, a leading international scientific journal. The paper was written by First Solar’s Parikhit Sinha and Amy Meader along with SmartGreenScan’s Mariska de Wild-Scholten.  The article documents First Solar’s water footprint over the life cycle of a cadmium telluride photovoltaics (CdTe PV) installation.  While energy security and climate change have been important drivers for renewable energy adoption, water security provides an additional driver.  For example in the United States, thermoelectric power plants have recently accounted for over 40% of total freshwater withdrawals from all sectors, even more than for agriculture.  This energy-water nexus associated with traditional energy sources can be a potential concern, particularly in water-stressed regions.  Because solar PV uses little to no water during operation, it provides a promising path forward for addressing the energy-water nexus.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=LifeCycleWaterUsage&blog=First+Solar3/8/2013Although Interstate 10 passes right by Desert Center, population 200, most travelers do just that—pass by. But now, once again, outside forces are changing Desert Center. The area’s abundant sunshine and nearby transmission lines have attracted solar power project developers, including the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm being built by First Solar. As part of its commitment to support local communities, First Solar has dedicated a $350,000 fund to ensure Desert Center residents share in the economic benefits from the project.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=DesertSunlightFund&blog=First+Solar2/15/2013The sight of a massive, utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant under construction can be awe inspiring, with millions of shimmering glass panels lined up, row after row, across swaths of wide-open desert. While the clean technology on display may be visually dramatic and a testament to solar power’s coming of age, consider the personnel situation. The tradespeople and the professional and administrative staff hired to put these installations together are working on types of projects that have, until recently, never been built before. Matching the capabilities, experience and temperament of prospective employees with the unique requirements of these first-of-their-kind construction projects is the purview of CLP Resources, one of First Solar’s staffing partners.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+11+-+CLP&blog=First+Solar2/7/2013First Solar is helping to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by offering an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels.  With over 6 GW installed worldwide, First Solar has displaced around 4 million tons of CO2e emissions, the equivalent of powering approximately 3 million homes per year, based on world averages.  For First Solar, providing a clean energy solution is not enough; we also strive to manage the carbon impacts resulting from our own operations and activities.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=GreenhouseGas&blog=First+Solar1/25/2013First Solar has donated 130 kilowatts of its advanced thin-film photovoltaic solar panels to Kandahar University in Afghanistan to support the university's program of energy independence. Solar power will displace expensive diesel-fired generation for the campus. Here is a news story from Afghanistan with details:http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=KandaharDonation&blog=First+Solar1/15/2013First Solar is pleased to be a platinum sponsor and exhibitor at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) taking place in Abu Dhabi January 15-17. http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=WFES+2013&blog=First+Solar1/14/2013What do Walmart, Apple, and First Solar have in common? As companies that manufacture and source equipment and materials inside the United States as well as locations around the world, they must deal with the gauntlet of customs rules and regulations in each port of call, and keep track of their freight as it ships through the export-import sequence. These high-profile firms share something else in common. Rather than deal with the complexities and headaches involved with customs compliance and international logistics on their own, they partner with Fortune 500 problem-solver Expeditors to help them along the way.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+10+-+Expeditors&blog=First+Solar1/3/2013NRG Energy, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and First Solar celebrated the completion of the 25-megawatt (MW) Avra Valley Solar Generating Station near Tucson, Ariz. on Dec. 13. The project was developed and is owned by NRG Energy, and the electricity will be sold to Tucson Electric Power under a 20-year power purchase agreement, making it the single largest PV system in TEP’s renewable energy portfolio. First Solar designed and constructed the power plant using its trackers and 410,000 of its Series 3 thin-film PV modules, and it will provide Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services for the facility.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Avra+Valley&blog=First+Solar12/19/2012“Sustainability” – everyone hears about it – but do we really know what it is? It is a complex term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on earth – from ecological preservation movements to urban development practices and leading edge economic theory. The concept has also risen as a hot topic for global industry, and the renewable energy market in particular. How do large companies find the balance between environmental responsibility and strong economic performance, while at the same time being responsible employers and ethical partners?http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Sustainability+in+Practice&blog=First+Solar12/13/2012Before First Solar started scaling its initial manufacturing operations in Perrysburg, Ohio, in the mid-2000s, times had turned tough in the greater Toledo area where the company traces its roots. The once-numerous automotive industry supply-chain companies had dwindled, and many of the surviving firms struggled to keep their doors open, with thousands of middle-class working men and women laid off in the process. When the fledgling thin-film photovoltaics manufacturer began to assemble its own network of suppliers, a pair of local outfits from very different parts of the value chain—Conforming Matrix and Pro-Pak Industries—rose to the challenge, saving jobs and creating new ones. They remain key partners among First Solar’s 200-plus suppliers located in Ohio.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+9+-+Conforming&blog=First+Solar11/30/2012This fall, Topaz Solar Farms is conducting its fourth annual census of the San Joaquin kit fox on the project site in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. The effort is part of the 550-megawatt solar project’s effort to avoid, minimize and mitigate environmental impact.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=KitFoxCensus&blog=First+Solar11/12/2012One key to First Solar’s manufacturing success is its ability to fully process its thin-film photovoltaic panels in a matter of hours, with very high yields at a cost below that of competing technologies. Engineered glass enters a fully automated production system and runs through a series of deposition, thermal, etching, and cleaning steps that create a thin layer of photoactive semiconductor materials sandwiched between two pieces of glass. The panel then moves into the back-end assembly area, where adhesives are dispensed, lamination performed, junction boxes and other components attached, and final testing conducted. When completed, the now-operational energy-generating devices are binned and sorted, then picked up and placed by brawny industrial robots into shipping containers.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+8+-+ATS&blog=First+Solar11/8/2012Although the flies, heat and strong winds tested the fortitude of the 80+ attendees – made up of government representatives, landowners, community members, contractors and media – the significance of the landmark project kept guests’ spirits high.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=GreenoughCommission&blog=First+Solar11/6/2012Two First Solar associates were given special recognition during our annual Senior Leadership Meeting in Tempe the first week of October.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=CEOAward_2012&blog=First+Solar11/2/2012First Solar works hard to avoid, minimize and mitigate environmental impacts from its solar power projects, in line with its mission to generate energy in a sustainable way. Case in point: the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farms project that the company is building in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. for MidAmerican Solar. First Solar developers collaborated with public resource agencies and with national and local environmental organizations on a plan that will preserve in perpetuity 22,000 acres of the Carrizo Plain as habitat for species such as the San Joaquin kit fox, pronghorn antelope and tule elk.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=CreatureCare&blog=First+Solar10/24/2012Tired but satisfied volunteers caught their breath and cooled off, sitting on the lowered gate of a semi-trailer backed up to the loading dock at First Solar’s Tempe, Arizona, headquarters. It took all morning to load by hand, but the truck now held 8,675 boxes of macaroni & cheese, 3,573 cans of tuna and 1,186 jars of peanut butter – a 15,018 pound load translating to 11,552 meals.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Food+Drive&blog=First+Solar10/10/2012When someone describes how much of a solar power plant site is covered with photovoltaic modules, the term “under glass” is often used. The reason for this is obvious: the first thing you notice about the panels is the flat piece of thin glass, about eight square feet in size, that makes up the front of the energy-generating device. The image created by thousands or even millions of modules stretching as far as the eye can see across a utility-scale site resembles nothing less than a sea of glass.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+7+-+Pilkington&blog=First+Solar9/27/2012Q: First Solar recently created a local operating subsidiary in Thailand. Is that market ready to take off?http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=3+Questions+-+Won+Park&blog=First+Solar9/14/2012Before the first post is pounded into the desert floor, let alone the first solar module is installed, every inch of a solar power plant site must be surveyed. A properly conducted survey plays a critical role in the design process for these massive construction jobs, optimizing the layout of solar arrays and minimizing the amount of dirt that must be bladed and moved before the steel support systems can be deployed. Some of the largest sites can extend for several miles, making the task even more daunting.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+6+-+Syntech&blog=First+Solar9/7/2012First Solar’s hot climate white paper titled “Performance Characterization and Superior Energy Yield of First Solar PV Power Plants in High-Temperature Conditions” has been published in the 17th edition of Photovoltaics International, a leading industry trade journal. The paper was written by First Solar’s Nick Strevel, Lou Trippel, and Markus Gloeckler and substantiates First Solar’s superior energy yield advantage in high temperature climates. The paper covers detailed performance characterization data including temperature coefficient, initial stabilization, module rating process, and long-term degradation and explains the fundamentals of high-temperature operation that influence energy output, module efficiency, and module reliability over the power plant’s life.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Hot+Climate+Performance&blog=First+Solar9/5/2012First Solar’s utility-scale PV solar projects are providing good jobs for U.S. Armed Forces veterans returning from combat overseas. Case in point: the 550 megawatt Topaz Solar Farms project in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., which First Solar is constructing for MidAmerican Solar. Topaz Construction Manager Raymond Christian, a former U.S. Marine, has a number of veterans on his crew who returned from tours in Iraq to a challenging job market at home.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=TopazVeterans&blog=First+Solar8/15/2012While solar power generation begins with photovoltaic modules harvesting the sun’s rays and turning those photons into electrons, it’s the inverters that efficiently convert that captured energy into user-friendly electricity. The two devices represent the fundamental building blocks of any grid-tied solar system. When First Solar engineers and constructs a multi-hundred-megawatt utility-scale plant, it must procure hundreds of the sizeable power electronics units from partner companies that are capable of consistently providing a high-quality, reliable product and world-class service. For game-changing projects like Sarnia II, Agua Caliente, and Antelope Valley Solar Ranch, the supplier of choice has been SMA America, a division of market-leading SMA Solar Technology.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+4+-+SMA&blog=First+Solar8/6/2012Cattle have recently been added to the workforce of over 500 construction workers at the 550 megawatt Topaz Solar Farms project in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., that First Solar is building for MidAmerican Solar. The bovine contingent, a hand-selected herd on loan from a local rancher, is charged with vegetation management on several thousand acres of project and stewardship land, helping to reduce fire hazard in the hot, dry summer months. The approach, which is both traditional and unconventional, aligns with First Solar’s commitment to sustainable development: avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating environmental impacts.  First Solar worked closely with local and national conservation groups to ensure Topaz addressed all environmental concerns in developing and constructing the project. Sheep grazing is also being considered as a similarly benign vegetation control method during the wetter winter growing season.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=BovineWorkforce&blog=First+Solar8/3/2012In his keynote presentation at Intersolar North America 2012, Jim Brown, First Solar EVP of Global Business Development, laid out his vision for the solar industry’s future, enumerating the keys to success in light of the rapidly changing business drivers for utility-scale solar power on both the supply and demand side.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Jim+Brown+Intersolar+NA+2012+Recap&blog=First+Solar7/24/2012Part 3 in a series:  First Solar spends more than $1 billion annually with over 1,000 U.S. suppliers across 35 states. In this ongoing series, we will explore the inspiring stories of companies growing in partnership with us.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+3+-+Taliesin&blog=First+Solar7/17/2012What does it take to run a business and how does it feel to manage people? How does a company market their products and is it easy to obtain customers? These are the regular questions that young people ask when enquiring about running their own businesses.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=KLM+-+YEP&blog=First+Solar7/13/2012In June, First Solar announced it would provide 159 megawatts of solar power projects for AGL Energy under Australia's Solar Flagships Program.  Jack Curtis, Vice President of Business Development, and Rob Bartrop, Senior Manager of Business Development, from First Solar’s Sydney office discuss the project and the future of large-scale solar in Australia.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=3+Questions+-+Jack+and+Rob&blog=First+Solar7/11/2012Part 2 in a series:  First Solar spends more than $1 billion annually with over 1,000 U.S. suppliers across 35 states. In this ongoing series, we will explore the inspiring stories of companies growing in partnership with us.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+2+-+Omco&blog=First+Solar7/9/2012First Solar has five speakers presenting in various sessions at Intersolar North America (San Francisco, July 9-12) on topics ranging from solar project finance to grid integration.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Speakers+at+Intersolar&blog=First+Solar7/6/2012The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD 2012) –known as the Rio +20 Earth Summit- drew to a close and world leaders failed to produce ambitious commitments on sustainable growth. Although hopes were not very high before the start of the negotiations, it is still regrettable that no considerable progress was made with regard to measures promoting a transition to a low carbon and renewable energy economy.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=RIO20&blog=First+Solar7/2/2012Part 1 in a series:  First Solar spends more than $1 billion annually with over 1,000 U.S. suppliers across 35 states. In this ongoing series, we will explore the inspiring stories of companies growing in partnership with us.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Supply+Chain+1+-+Orbiting+the+Sun&blog=First+Solar6/28/2012On May 24, 2012, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation inaugurated a new 250-kilowatt (AC) solar PV power system donated by First Solar which will help power the historic Taliesin West campus in Scottsdale, Arizona. The commissioning marks the successful completion of the first phase of the Energizing Taliesin West™ initiative, a pioneering effort to transform the entire National Historic Landmark Taliesin West site into a "net zero" energy customer, producing as much energy as it consumes annually, while maintaining the historic and architectural integrity of the site. The comprehensive project, led by energy efficiency consultant Big Green Zero, is focused on the twin goals of maximizing the campus' energy efficiency through improved lighting, insulation, climate controls and other techniques while also generating renewable energy on-site.http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Taliesin+West&blog=First+Solar6/19/2012Q: Can large solar farms be friendly to the electricity grid?http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=3+Questions+-+Robert+Jenkins&blog=First+Solar6/7/2012Q: In March, First Solar and NRG announced that the 26 MWac Avra Valley project would utilize First Solar's single-axis tracker. This surprised some in the industry. Do trackers make economic sense with First Solar modules?http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=3+Questions+Scott+Dailey&blog=First+Solar6/1/2012On the company’s first-quarter earnings call, Ahearn said Hughes has demonstrated superb leadership across the organization while filling a variety of challenging strategic planning and execution roles, including helping the company hammer out its new, five-year strategy to focus on unsubsidized markets for solar energy. http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=Jim+Hughes+Appointed+CEO&blog=First+Solar5/3/2012Q: You are in South Africa for the latest round of United Nations climate change negotiations. Why is First Solar there?http://www.firstsolar.com/Press-Center/First-Solar-Blog/?post=3+Questions+-+Lettemieke+Mulder&blog=First+Solar4/2/2012